Prejudice Dies Hard
by Reverend Archangel
Summary: Four years have passed since the Night Howlers ordeal. As such, much has occurred for Officers Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps; both who have grown used to coping with the habitual routine of upholding the law. But, things are far from perfect for these partners as they struggle with societies prejudices, all along with a secret that could tear both them and the 1st Precinct apart.
1. Prologue

_**Prejudice Dies Hard**_

 _ **By**_

 _ **Reverend Archangel**_

 _ **Chapter I**_

 _ **Prologue**_

 _"A great marriage is not when the 'perfect couple' comes together. It is when an imperfect couple learns to enjoy their differences." Dave Meurer_

 _"The titles husband and wife hold more significance than their definitions, it is a testament to face the hardships and joys of life together. The years that lay ahead are for them to accept and appreciate their spouses' differences." Reverend Archangel_

* * *

If there was one thing that could be said about being an enforcer of the law that was an utter nightmare, it would have to be the constant and never-ending paper work. Which had to be filled out and sorted through by those who were unfortunate enough to have the detail given to them. Officer Wilde had discovered quite quickly after he joined the force that he wasn't an exception. He often complained at his partner when she was present or at least within earshot, usually pinning it to being all her fault. His such mentioned partner was currently out with one of the rookies, teaching the new addition to the family the ropes, getting them acquainted with real field work in the city, the usual stuff they had to do to integrate the shinies. As she did this, he was left to grieve over all the paperwork on his desk, all courtesy of Chief Bogo.

It wasn't as if the buffalo was directly targeting him with this form of work, it just needed to be done. The way that the office was run in the 1st precinct was that the day's work was given out by the chief. Placing together the officers he believed would insure the job would be professionally handled. The fox along with other members of their department today had drawn the metaphorically speaking, unlucky straw, or paper cut detail as they refereed it to. He at least hoped that his superior wasn't giving him these duties just to make his life miserable, yet he wouldn't put him past it with his bosses sense of humor, seeing as he occasionally caught him whinging about it.

When he was fresh out of the academy, he had noticed that some of the other officers at the station, traded and bargained with others so they could get out of a job they didn't want to do, or couldn't exactly do due to their species, or just because of prior experiences. The chief had found out about this eventually and had brought a hoof down on it. Meaning one of his famous tongue lashings, which had ceased all those kinds of office antics. Nowadays, whoever was assigned to do the job they were given had to fulfill it, not someone else. There was no sarcastic or wise-crack from the vulpine about that, simply nodding and then gulping down the lump in his throat. The buffalo could be frightening when he was in a seriously ill mood.

Wilde along with his partner had a lot less to fear from the bigger mammal, as they were normally on his good side. He could even call him…. a friend of sorts, it was more like a very close work associate who was in charge of him. A one ton mammal who could make him shrink away in fear when in the wrong mood. Either way he tried to keep his complaints to a minimal around the office, in preference to keeping the large prey off him. He honestly preferred to do it while doing rounds, or at home since it was safer. That along with avoiding getting in his boss's way by doing what he was assigned to do and having it done when it was post to be done.

Him groveling about what he was assigned to do wouldn't get it done unfortunately. He had found that out one day by being obstinately against touching the stacks of crisp and lethally edged paper. This ended up with him having to stay at the station later then he wanted, along with a certain annoyed officer. The bunny had refused to let him leave, staying herself to make sure that he didn't try and sneak out of it. He had only done this once, but he would never hear the end of it from her, still it was all in good fun, ragging on each other was all part of the day to day at the ZPD.

Today however he was finding that he was more drained of all his usual enthusiasm, having grown stiff from sitting so long in the office chair. Not able to fight it any longer he let out a tired high pitch whine as he yawned. Followed by satisfying pops from his arms as he leaned back and stretched them over his head. As he sat upright again he smoothed the fur of his muzzle with a paw before trying to stifle another yawn, feeling very bored. Why shouldn't he? Other law enforcers were running about the city, apprehending criminals and actually making a difference in society. All the while he was glued to a monitor and filling out stacks of paperwork that needed to be filled out by the end of the day, at latest before 10 am tomorrow. Even just being outside and roasting in the sun doing nothing but handling minor misdemeanors would be better than this, even being given the meter maid duty would be better, and that was saying something.

After his short one minute break he started looking through the scribbled notes and observations from a force an entry two nights ago. He typed this up on the template on the computer, filling out the information required like the date, time, location, officers present, police vehicle registrations, PSCs called in and so on. He would save this onto the stations data base which would sort it out and put it in the right day and time slot, so they didn't have to, that and share it with other departments and smaller stations in Zootopia. He would have to print these out later as well and put them in their own files based on date, time and what the call in was about. This kind of work had been tricky for the first few weeks but he had gotten into the loop of things at the station by this point.

As it was, he was filling out the next report that he had started only to suddenly feel his phone vibrate. His paw slipped into his pocket out of habit and before he even could see the screen he had unlocked it. Looking up to the notification bar, he found that he had received a message from a certain doe. One of his eyebrows raised curiously but with a sly sleepy smirk, she wasn't the one to normally play on her phone on duty. Usually she was the one to remind him not to do it. He couldn't resist, he opened it.

 _ **Sahara Square, wish you could be here.**_ That was all it said, but beneath the caption was an image of his partner and the rookie, a wolf whose name he couldn't quite place, sitting in their police vehicle. Both of them were sweaty, fur mattered and looking exhausted but pleased with themselves. He could see that the windows to the cruiser were open. Still as he looked over the image, he couldn't remember the name of the kid.

The tod took a selfie with a bored expression which wasn't awfully hard to pull off. _**Shouldn't you be working, :)**_ _ **#UTB.**_ Once he sent the message he put his phone away and went back to work, not expecting a reply from her. The most she had sent him in a day was two, and that was on a slow day and there weren't many of those in the high paced life of Zootopia, especially for the officers who were sent out to do field work.

That was all except for the cops who hated paperwork with a vengeance like him, then these days were particularly sluggish. One of their own who made the best of it and liked a desk job was Clawhauser, but he was an odd case. The jovial cheetah was one of the first animals besides the bunny officer herself, who had warmed up to him being at the station, even with his previous background. Thinking of the energetic bunny made his ears lower as he sighed, eyes falling down to the paperwork in front of him. He could be with her right now and be chasing down thugs, to animals breaking the speed limit, or even giving jaywalkers a strict warning. All that was more exciting and enjoyable then being stuck behind his desk in their shared office space.

 _"Make the best out of everything Nick,"_ her optimism always rubbed off on him, which had shown in the past to have gotten him in the craziest of Zootopia's plots and conspiracies. Fortunately it had been four years since that fiasco ended and nothing even remotely as interesting had happened along that magnitude ever since; well except that one time when they got their vehicle stuck in the mud in the Rainforest District. This had earned them a _calm_ lecture from the chief as it had taken three other cruisers to get theirs out. Now that brought back memories of his initial impressions of the buffalo.

The fox left his reminiscing at that and continued on with his task for the day, so that tomorrow he would hopefully be back in the field. As he did his thoughts wondered as they usually did but at the same time he kept his focus on his work, tiresomely insuring that he didn't make mistakes, or he would find himself here tomorrow for having done a bad job.

If his luck struck out tomorrow and he was back in the office he could always try and convince one of the recruits to trade with him, not caring if it would invoke the chiefs wrath. He knew that a few of them would prefer an office job instead of having to work with the animals of the city. It was understandable, seeing as some of the prey and predator animals were quite enormous compared to officers like him and a few others around the station. Especially after Judy and him had graduated, all types of species started signing up to try to be officers. No other foxes or rabbits as of yet, but that was to be expected from the societal pressures against their kind.

As such the size differences for some of their smaller officers, such as the few hedgehogs, weasels, badgers and the lynx were outmatched by the stronger and bigger mammals, often they had to use dirty tactics or being ingenuitive. A couple of them had taken more comfortable duties at the station, but a few of them were up for the more challenging ones. He for one wouldn't be in any hurry to try and apprehend for instance a rhino, having done so once before which had ended up with him being thrown over a car. Officer Hopps would, but she was a different kind of breed of police officer, one that would die to do the right thing, which was somewhat unsettling, especially for him.

Call him selfish but he was all about keeping his tail safe when it came down to it in the end, with the rare exceptions of those close to him. But to act as a shield for someone he didn't know and who would never likely return the favor was still a difficult concept for him to grasp. It was one of the duties of an officer of the law, to insure that the laws of society were followed, but also more importantly, to protect the inhabitants of Zootopia, no matter what the risk to them was. He had broken up violent confrontations between animals incredibly stronger than him and in height, in most instances it was both. When he did it though he felt this ever-present feeling of a knot in his stomach, his body growing taught as he was prepared to take action, fingers drumming on the butt of his tranquilizer.

These feelings of unease had lessened over the last few years, only remnants of them lingering here and there in certain situations. His nervous pawing of his sidearm had all but disappeared, due to it being against their regulations since it had been shown to unsettle suspects, victims and anyone around the officer. The studies put into it had shown that someone with these signs shared similarities to soldiers with itchy trigger fingers. It also led to unease in the public, and what they wanted was to alleviate their fears when they were around, not induce fear into the citizens.

This fox didn't need to have statistics with proven studies shoved into his face. He had seen it first paw with other animals in his old neighborhood when he was a con-artist, but these habits were with live firearms, which were banned in Zootopia and other metropolises like it. In the ghettos and slums though it was the norm to see the inhabitants with ballistic firearms out across their laps, in their homes, or just to see them close to their owners at all times. But seeing the almost hypnotic pawing of the weapon, would always bring him bouts of unease. This was even with him being around them nearly all day when he used to live in these shadier parts of the city. Though his tranquilizer was of a much weaker scale compared to a caliber, he had to break this nervous pattern before it became more of a problem, which he had, eventually.

This was all thanks to the same woman who put her neck on the line every day when out in the field. A living inspiration of what a good law abiding cop and citizen should be like. The fox would have rolled his eyes years back if someone had told him he would find these qualities attractive, but he had and still did. He had never met and probably would never meet another like Judy, luckily for him too. Considering where he was now, his new life style and how he had found a sense of purpose and belonging within society. None of it would have been possible if she had never tailed him and Finnick to Jumbeaux's Café.

The reason to why she had trailed them still brought a small grimace even today, only having found about it after the crazy mess they had gotten themselves into. He wasn't one to accuse, he had stereotypes for rabbits and prejudice against prey before she had opened his eyes, and he hers. Being who he was, he had forgiven her easily, as things had all worked out well in the end. The uniform he was wearing and the room around enough evidence to prove it.

Not that it was all perfect. As partners and still being enemies as nature had intended them to be they got into bouts here and there on small things. In the case of where work was concerned, these were the ones that evoked the more heated ones which could get them yelling at one another, their office often being overturned as they vented while they disputed. These usually arose from where a warning or fine was given to someone, sometimes based on species, specific places in the city and appearance, as in what the animal was wearing. Nick was more lenient with warnings then his associate, but gave fines to the ones who she would least expect him to, knowing from growing up in the city who would break the law again, usually the business animal who though they were so important. Judy would be harsher and would give less warnings, giving out fines more often even to those who looked as though they could barely afford the clothes they wore. These kind of confrontations would lead to the chief or a higher ranking officer to intervene, usually it was the chief since the officers int he first precinct answered to him.

They had also rubbed off on each other in the four years of being partners and close friends, making them a good team at the end of the day, though the oddest pair as well. It wasn't rare to see a fox and a rabbit work together as well as they did. It was simply because they looked beyond what they were, instead concentrating on what really mattered and that was who was underneath it all. It was emotionally intimate to work together like this, but their partnership had never been in the realms of normal, it hadn't been when they worked with their first case and it never would be.

This was something he was also thankful for; he would have never been able to work along Judy if they operated in the areas of the norm. The way they went about it was in his opinion the best way to do it, true it still had it's own problems as he had seen it have its downfalls, but nothing was perfect. If everything was perfect then a lot of animals would be out of a job, and again he would have never met the animal who had changed his life. She would still probably be on her parent's farm at Bunnyburrows. Selfishness again, but he couldn't imagine a day without her being in his life, it just wouldn't be the same and he would find it truly dull if she suddenly wasn't there. He doubted if he could even continue being an officer, he could but he probably wouldn't be his usual upbeat and charismatic self. That and what he heard his fellow officers mumble about him because of his species would ultimately revert him to being what he had been when a teenager, quiet and angry with the world.

Once again the predator leaned back in his chair, having finished thirteen reports in the last two and a half hours. That was definitely a cause for a break of sorts, he looked at the clock above their office door seeing it was somewhere around fifteen hundred. Another little thing about the bunny he had picked up on in the years, she had grown up using the twenty-four-hour clock, and hadn't broken out of it even as an adult. It definitely made things easier for him to keep track of, but for the first month it had been difficult filling out paperwork where most other animals used the twelve-hour clock and having to convert it around for the reports.

Considering that he had been at it for most of the day he would give himself a ten…a fifteen-minute break. He had earned a quarter of an hour break for his work ethic and not having taken a real break all day. He had even missed his lunch break, time having slipped away from him again as his thoughts and work had effectively sucked most of the day away. That and his partner usually reminded him to eat, habitually forgetting to take breaks and eat.

Not particularly hungry he opened his desk draw and pulled out one of his blueberry oatmeal bars. Being a fox he disliked the gritty oatmeal, his fangs not being made to chew it, and also getting wedged between them. As with many things in life he had grown to tolerate it, ever since Judy had started making porridge for breakfast for them. He had grown fond of the bars, not the oatmeal per say, yet was finding it easier to stomach the grain as he had more and more food that was similar to it while living with her.

He had moved in with her originally because his landlord had kicked him out when he found out he was going to the police academy, this along with complaints that some-animal was using all the hot water in the mornings. As he was the only fox in the complex the blame had been shifted to him instantly after the suspect hadn't been found. The excuse the bitter old male had given was that it would only bring trouble if he was housing an officer, plus the tod had suspcions that the ram was speciest. Nevertheless he had just shrugged his shoulders, packed his things and left. The training at the academy would take an entire year, so he had planned to move out on his own accord, but being kicked had infuriated him. He hadn't done anything wrong while living at that jerk's excuse of an apartment complex.

Ignoring that particularly irritating memory he took a bite and savored the tart and sweet taste of the blueberry oatmeal bar. His tail begun to sway side to side on its own accord, knowing he looked childish but didn't care, he wasn't self-conscious about what most people thought or perceived him to be, or what he did. An affect of some traumatic circumstances as a child and how he had embraced the stereotype people believed he was because of his species. Now and even before he didn't care what people saw him as, it was their fault if they couldn't look past his exterior and get to know him.

Willing these other thoughts to the back of his mind he concentrated on the positives, thinking about what he had planned that night. He pulled out his phone with his free paw and looked at his calendar and found that he had nothing planned, being a Thursday and all. It was near the weekend, which him and Judy planned to stay at her place, maybe relax, go out for a run or two, catch a movie or two if anything caught their interest.

Tonight nonetheless he hadn't a clue, he had chosen what to do the night prior and that was just them taking a stroll through one of the parks after their shift ended, enjoying the city at night, the cool gentle breeze of Savanna Central seeing as they were in the cooler months of the year. They had settled down on a park bench after a while of walking about, looking at the towering sky scrapers that surrounded them, the trees of the park along with it's fountain. That and the stars that and the stars above them, gleaming faintly behind the light pollution of the buildings. They had talked there for hours, just enjoying the closeness and the others voice.

Thinking of last night brought a smile to the fox's muzzle, having enjoyed spending the time he had with her. The fox threw the foil rapper in the recycle tin in the corner of their office. Having got that out of the way he tried to recollect what they had talked about, but could only remember snippets of it. This was odd, normally he could recall such talks with her with such crystal clarity, something he had prided himself over was possessing a good memory. Maybe it was because he wasn't exactly listening but that wasn't it, he was sure he had been hanging over every word she said, knowing that she found listening a good quality in an animal.

It could have been because his emerald eyes had gotten lost while watching her, all the while as she talked about her day, her plans for the future, her dreams and the goals she wanted to meet. His eyes never left her, completely enraptured in the ethereal beauty of her fur as the light from both the night sky and city, making her fur appear to be a more vibrant gray, almost silver. Her eyes were like deep pools of amethysts as they reflected what was around her and the little amount of light that found them.

He could still recall the way her pink nose twitched as she breathed and caught different fragrances from the air around them, her long ears lowering and raising from the constant altering sounds from the city, as well as his breathing he suspected. The way her chest rose and fell with every breath she took and gave. She appeared to be just so beautiful and at peace at that moment, his mind had taken a perfect picture, one his phone would never be able to capture her like he had, it would have ruined the mood anyways.

She had eventually looked at him, feeling his eyes lingering over her and she had pushed his face to look somewhere else, her cheeks crimson and her ears lowering in embarrassment, with the insides having turned rosy. Her paws pulling on them, a habit of hers when feeling flustered or when she was stressed. He had chuckled making it worse, which earned him having her sock him in the arm.

There was a small bruise, but she had been holding back, by a lot as he had felt her really punch him. Usually when she wanted someone to practice with in paw to paw combat, so she didn't get rusty or forget any useful skills. He always joined her when she freshened up on the skills she was taught, not by choice the first few times but it had fallen into a routine with them on their days off, or on breaks. She wasn't the one to let them truly relax and he was okay with that, most days. Waking him up two hours before the sun rose to go out for a run was not in his category of favorite morning activities. Again he had grown used to this. Besides running and keeping themselves fit they would tune their fighting skills, though it was rare they would ever need it, it was better to have it then regret it when they did, something he had found out the hard way four years ago, being almost completely useless in that fight with Bellwethers associates.

With these sparring matches her height was always a deceiving factor, hiding how strong she was, most of her strength was in her legs He knew this from how she could take him down nine out of ten times even as he struggled, to make it more realistic and because he didn't want her to keep getting the best of him. Every take down she had performed on him were done with the correct amounts of force, following the continuum they were taught in the academy by the letter. This was one of the reasons she was the one to graduate from the academy with the valedictorian.

He had gotten through quite alright as well, having taken his training seriously, which had surprised the animals who hadn't bothered to get to know him. All except Judy who was just proud of him, knowing he could do it from the start. There were hiccups here and there, and a few tense accusations from one of the instructors when supplies and other such manner of things started disappearing from his fellow recruits lockers. They had found out it was one of the janitors who was stealing and selling the stuff on the side. He never got an apology, not that he had expected one, there never were any.

It had been three years since he had graduated, being the first fox officer, not to mention with a valedictorian himself, but not many people knew or remembered that fact. Even so his take-downs were his weak point, not having mastered them all that well. He was often too rough or aggressive when bringing down suspects who had either refused to comply or had bolted. This was another thing the rabbit was also helping him with. It was hard though, different animals required different amounts of force to subdue them when it was required. He had accidently hurt her when she was showing him a technique. Her showing up with a slight bruise around her eye and a little limp had gotten him dirty glares from some of their co-workers for a good week. These were the ones who didn't trust him all that much, but she had reassured everyone it was an accident, which it was. He would never lay an aggressive finger on her, something she now knew since they had become close partners.

What could he say, his tact at physical altercations just wasn't that great. He mainly relied on his silver tongue to talk to animals, often getting them to tell him things they didn't mean to let out, this worked with both suspects and witnesses. Also when he was a con-artist he was able to diffuse situations from backfired deals and to bargain very well with his clients. The chief often times used him to interrogate animals because of this skill, putting him to work with getting confessions and getting them to talk when they had information that they were withholding. It didn't work all the time, some could simply ignore him like he wasn't even there, he had once seen this as frustrating, but now he laughed it off and told them they were a waste of time to come to them. It was rude but, they were wasting the police's time and putting something or someone at risk with keeping such information to themselves.

The fox sat back up in his chair seeing that his break had come to an end. There wasn't a great amount left to do, but once these reports were all filled out, printed and categorized into the right folders it would be time to clock out. He opened up a new template on the screen and started typing down the information that an officer had filled out last night as a first responder to a murder. It was grimacing work to read the details, hard to imagine such things as well, yet he couldn't let them sidetrack him. This report would assist in the murderers capture so he might as well do a good job so no one else had to get killed. Interesting that if one of these reports went missing, or was never filled out, an entire case could slip through because there was too little evidence to go on. With this grim encouragement that he was doing his part behind the desk he got back into the rhythmic tapping of the keyboard, completely focused on the work at paw.

 _Three and a half hours later….._

"Finally, you're someone else's problem!" the officer growled as he rubbed his eyes tiredly, closing his laptop with a loud click.

It had been a long day but he had finally filled out the last stack of paperwork and had sorted it all. There was a neat pile in the out box on his desk, so whoever came in to get the paperwork would have an easier job to sort through them. He didn't know who did it, but this was once again what Chief Bogo had them do. They filled them out and left them in stacks on their desks and then the officers who knew what to do with this paperwork would handle it. It was a simple system and it gave everyone a role at the station. More importantly everything at the station worked perfectly in sync, everything getting done in perfect sync, which it hadn't been before the buffalo took command, it was all in order and everything

Before he could head out he had to check out on the system, and check over his hours to see if he was meeting the weeks requirements. Walking out of the office he logged into the system on his phone, which he'd have to log out of, delete the days history and do other assorted stuff so that no one could use his phone to get into the system, if he lost it. Glancing through his profile on the system he nodded his head as he looked at the statistics and how he was doing compared to everyone else. He found that his hours were around where he wanted them for that week. Something his partner and him always made sure of was to put in an extra hour or two. Principally because there was no rush to get back home most nights. Plus every so often the job demanded them to take a couple hours more in their shifts.

When he was finally checked out he reached underneath his desk and grabbed his satchel bag which was pressed into one of the corners of the room. He used it to take stuff to and from the station. Often times it was just to take documents that he hadn't finished on time back home so he could work on them. The prospect of being forced to stay at the office to make sure he got them done didn't appeal to him. Tonight though there wasn't any extra reports, as of yet. If Judy got something then it became both their work. This was because he always helped her with reports seeing as she was one of the stations main field officers, her days were long as she was often chasing criminals on foot and at the end of the day she was worn ot to the bone.

She'd often grumble at him that she still needed to fill out the paperwork, but he often just told her to go have a lie down and give her hind-paws a rest. But she would usually do as he suggested but muttered about him being frustrating to live with. Later on in the nights he would find her curled up on the bed fast asleep when he was done with the reports. It was clear that her pads were sore most nights, leaving her in an irritable mood as the pain would shoot up her legs. How she expected to fill out these important files or to do any other sort of work was a mystery.

Tonight he hoped she was just as tired as him so they didn't go out and do something. He honestly wasn't feeling up to go out for a walk, drive somewhere, go see a move, even going out to eat sounded horrible. The relative calm of their shared apartment grew more favorable to the liking the more he thought about it. His ears lowered a fraction as he came to the grips that if his partner wanted to go somewhere tonight he would go with her, and try his hardest to keep his complaints to himself. He had taken them out last night, so wherever she wanted to go he'd have to at least pretend to enjoy himself. It was time they got to spend together off duty, so he wouldn't be too miserable.

Speaking of which, he pulled out his phone seeing that it was coming up past 19:30. She should have been here half an hour ago, he thought nothing of it seeing as if there was a problem someone would have notified him about it. He slung his satchel bag over his shoulder and headed out the door, heading for the entrance of the station. Maybe Clawhauser was still here, then he would have someone to talk to.

When he got there, the cheetah was gone, the night shift receptionist was there instead. Edith, their only lynx, who was behind the desk, looking down at the screen, and seemingly caught up in her own thoughts, but she looked up and gave him a small smile as well as a little curt nod before returning to her work. He reciprocated the nod and a small smile as well before walking outside, heading for the second step from the top to take a seat.

This was his usual spot when waiting for her, since she was the one with their ride. He pulled out his phone and checked through his text messages, sending replies back to friends and some officer associates as they were off duty today. He checked his furbook account before going and checking his emails, seeing if there was anything new. There wasn't so he just deleted the junk mail and closed the numerous adds that had popped up. After he had sorted through that he returned back to his texts and waited for someone to reply, scrolling through the pictures of his gallery which consisted of more pictures then he knew what to do with them. The selfies of himself he had started to delete lately, taking too much room on his phone. Nick kept the ones he had with his friends at the station and of Judy, once their were too many he'd send them to his email account, saving them on a flash drive. He did a quick scroll of the last two months and saw that there were more pictures consisting of the bunny and him, or just of her, mainly in her uniform as they had been on duty.

The fox looked over the ones of him and his partner, lingering over the ones he would describe her as cute in, though he would never utter that with her around. She hated being described as cute or adorable or the stereotypical analogies that rabbits got. It wasn't like she wasn't when asleep or when embarrassed but it was just that she hated it, since it was used so often to describe her species. It often referred to how they were considered small, weak and how they lived very sheltered life. He saw her differently for a number of reasons. Beautiful, were the first words that came to his mind first when describing her, or intelligent and also fiercely independent.

He didn't get too much time to dwell as he heard someone yell his name, followed by a few loud blares from a car's horn. His ears shot up all the way and faced forward and his head snapped up as his eyes widened a bit with surprise. The rookie he had seen in the group picture from earlier came walking up the stairs, giving him a little wave. He returned it as he got up and quickly walked down the steps and got into the police cruiser. Again he couldn't for the life of him figure out what that wolf's name was.

"Thought you couldn't hear me Wilde," the slender bunny teased, as she pulled back out into traffic, starting their hopefully short trip home if that was where they were going, if this was the case he hoped the traffic wasn't too sluggish.

The reynard put the bag beneath his feet, leaning back as he put on his seat belt not having gotten the time before she had pulled out, she must have been as eager to get to wherever she was taking them. He didn't ask her as they were both in their own worlds. Something that they enjoyed was how these silences that fell between them didn't feel as though they needed to be broken, both being content with the other so near by.

Nick looked through the window with disinterest as they approached their first intersection, all the while passing stores and buildings alike. The sidewalks busy with the hustle and bustles of animals returning from or heading to work. His focus settled on an otter selling flowers at their stand, greeting his customers with a welcoming smile. Letting his gaze shift he saw another police car parked on the side of the road, a wolf and a dole both keeping vigilant eyes over their charges. Judy like him hadn't said anything since she picked up her partner. Unlike the fox she didn't pay anyone much attention, keeping her attention to the road, being careful of smaller vehicles and pedestrians alike. Neither of them said anything, neither of them knowing exactly what to say to the other. This aside the only noise besides the rumbling of cars motors and the sound of the world outside, it was silent.

As they crossed through the intersection the tod voiced up casually in an attempt to make light conversation. "How was your day, Carrots?"

"It was good," Judy nodded as she said this, thinking back on her day. "It was Lances first day in the field, the rookie you saw coming up. He 's a good guy, he's trying to make money for his family since they just moved into the city, they used to live on the outside of Zootopia near the Burrows or somewhere around there, he didn't say where," she paused giving him a quick glance over seeing if he was paying attention, he nodded showing he was. She continued more assured that she wasn't boring the fox, "He grew up working fields like I did when I was younger…."

Nick closed his eyes, his ears focused on what she was saying, but not entirely. He let the stress of the day melt away as he took in her voice, listening to what she said but not paying attention to details. It wasn't like he was exactly ignoring her, more of just enjoying the sound of her voice as she yammered on about what she and Lance had done. Apparently she was explaining a specific event because he could hear the excitement in her tone grow.

Refocusing in on the conversation he caught onto the last part of her story. "…..got him in the cuffs and took him down to the station. His first day out in the field and he's already showing that he'll be an exceptional officer," he gave her a wounded look and she giggled, "I won't replace you."

"Glad you see things my way," his tone very smug. "How was the rest of your day?"

"It went by slow, nothing else exciting happened after our arrest. I sent that picture to you after we had gotten back to Sahara Square," she let out a content sigh, even today she enjoyed her work as a cop, maybe not all aspects of it, but definitely helping animals.

"How was your day, sweetheart?" she had taken to using this as one of his pet names, which he had tried to get her to change, but to no avail. At least it was better than the other one.

"Oh you know, using these magic fingers to push the right buttons," her cheeks once again turned a shade of pink understanding what he was insinuating. He grinned impishly from causing her this discomfort, "That and being in a certain attractive police bunny's custody," his tone full of amusement as he gave her his signature charming smile. She looked at him from the corner of her eye before returning her attention back to the road, an unnoticeable smirk tugging at the corner of her muzzle as well.

"No one can hear us right?" he inquired, shifting in his seat a little so he could face her more easily.

"Everything's off," she said softly, her smile growing.

"That's good," he breathed. His eyes focused on her as he asked with mirth. "So what's the plan Mrs. Wilde?"

"It's Officer Wilde to you," she laughed, causing him to chuckle along with her, "Anyways I just want to stay home and relax for the night, unless you have something planned?"

"No, staying in sounds great," he reassured. "We could watch a movie if you're feeling up to it?" he recommended.

"I was thinking of just cuddling in bed and talking," she suggested.

"Hmmmmm, it sounds more than tempting," he pretended to think about it. "Only cuddling though?" she rolled her eyes, knowing that her husband was an affectionate animal, like most foxes if the research on them was accurate, that along with being very protective of their mate and children.

"Hmmm, only on one other condition."

"Name it, Fluff?" he was curious to what she wanted so he could possibly get some real alone time with her.

"I get to take the first shower and you make dinner," her voice leaving no room for compromising, and her smile disappearing from hearing the pet name he had given her. She wanted him to change it to something else since it sounded so boring.

"Sounds like an idea, but how about we share a shower and I still cook," he tried to persuade anyways.

She didn't answer right away, having come up to a busy intersection and having to stop at a red light. Only after they had passed it, "As long as you don't get so...frisky, like this morning, we were nearly late, again," she accused.

"How about more pawsy tonight and less in the morning," he smirked carnivorously, something that would have made her back away nervously years back, but now she loved seeing his smile.

"You're impossible Nick, and the answer's no, you should have taken the deal when you had the chance."

"Me impossible, perish the thought, Carrots. I'm the most reasonable fox you'll find in Zootopia. And come on I couldn't of struck out that easily," the bunny just shook her head to that, ignoring him for the rest of the drive home, knowing that he was just in a mischievous mood, but that was nothing new, he was always in one.

The rabbit steered the conversation to another subject, seeing as her mate was being impossible. Her eyes darted around the car till they landed on the silver band on Nick's middle finger. The little precious metal stood out on his red fur, but seemingly it was invisible to everyone else, never evoking a question or even a second glance at. Surely someone at the station or even someone in his family had seen it by now. The same could be said about her family and friends, yet they hadn't noticed either. That being said, they could just be waiting for her to tell them. Either way this is where she took them in areas of a new topic.

"N-n…no one's asked about your wedding band yet?" she asked somewhat uncomfortably, not that she was embarrassed about being married to the fox, but just how quickly it had seemed to happen. They had known each other for two and a half years, then he started being even more flirty till it had become something more till they got married at a court house a year and a half ago.

He lifted his paw a little to look at the silver wrapped around his finger. "No…...well Clawhauser asked about it...I want to say last month," he thought about it, almost having forgotten the big cat had asked. "All I told him was that I got married a year or so ago," he snickered as he thought about it. "Him being the gossipy desk cat, he tried to trick me into telling him. I never told him, telling him he didn't need to know," he looked at the band on her left paw, catching only a slight glimpse of gold.

Their rings were picked out by him, naturally being a romantic of sorts he couldn't resist to do something special for the both of them. This had led to him picking out the different metal bands, his being silver to represent her gray fur while the gold was for his red. Judy thought it had been very sweet of him to do it that way, and it had always gotten a smile out of her when she looked at the rings when their paws were interwoven.

He couldn't help but voice, "He was also asking about who you were with," her eyes opened with a mixture of both horror and trepidation. "Chill," he said a bit forcefully, trying to ease her obviously racing thoughts. "I just told him you had found someone a few months before I had," this calmed her down but a frown settled on her otherwise chirpy expression.

"It's been over a year Nicholas. When are we going to tell our friends, or even our families about us?" this wasn't a rhetorical question, furthermore it wasn't the first time either of them had brought it up.

"I know you want your parents to know," he hated hiding this just as much as she did. "Honestly though what can we do. Once we tell them, someone will find out and then all of Zootopia would know, we're not exactly unnoticed police officers since we solved the Night Howlers case."

She gave an affirmative hum before pulling up into the apartment complexe's shared garage. Parking into their usual space, turning off the engine before pressing the emergency break down. She then removed her seat belt so she could rest on her side so to get a better look at him. Her head rested on a propped paw, ears laid back. He mirrored her taking off his own belt, his ears perked up curiously.

"Nick, either way it's going to come out, so why are we still hiding this?" she placed her free paw on top of his, her claws running over his knuckles sensually.

"You know why. I don't want you getting back lash for being with a guy like me," his character wasn't what he was referring to. "We know it's not illegal like it used to be, but honestly everyone would lose their minds if they knew that we were together," he mumbled, hating how animals were still stuck in these old mindsets.

Even his mother wasn't absolutely for it, and when he had last seen her she was raving about how it was wrong as it had come up in the news when a vixen and a raccoon got married. Her typical reason was that it was against animals instincts and the natural order. It was the same for Judy's father, but there were also other reasons to it too. Mr. Hopps didn't exactly like predators, more precisely foxes, his exact words being that they were the vilest of predators. He may have been a cop, but that wouldn't convince someone to see past what he was on the outside, especially with his colorful history.

"There's nothing wrong with inter-species relationships, her paw was now stroking the side of his muzzle, her eyes looking into his which were looking into hers sternly, having made up his mind. "I also don't care what people will think of us, it's not important," she tried to coax him to change his mind on this secrecy, hoping this time he would at least consider it.

"Judith," he placed a paw over the one on his face. "You keep bringing this up, my answer isn't going to change…..not yet at least."

It wasn't his reputation he was worried about, he had always been seen as another despicable fox. Just because how the animals of society saw his species and spoke of them, didn't mean that his mate had to get pulled into all of it from just being with him. She couldn't lose her job for being in a relationship outside of her own species but it would certainly make things difficult at the station, more importantly at home with her parents and some of her siblings.

"Then when?" she growled becoming annoyed with his constant avoidance of this talk. "What's the real reason?"

"I don't want to see you getting hur….."

"Nick, we're both adults, I can take care of myself, and so can you. Don't start giving me that," she protested.

"Let me finish." She didn't want to, but she nodded though, albeit reluctantly.

He felt that this conversation was just mimicking the one they had nearly four weeks ago and the one three weeks prior to that. The only differences was that they were in the car instead of at the dining room table, or in bed as it had been before that one.

"Judy, you've got a close relationship with your folks, I don't want you to lose that just because of me," she opened her mouth to object but he cut her off, by continuing to talk, leaving no room for her to voice her argument. "You even told me that your old man doesn't like my kind," her mouth closed slowly till her lips sealed with a scowl. She knew that he was right. "I know he's not going to be hopping with joy when he find out that his precious daughter is married to a fox." _Especially one such as myself._ He left out

"Fox tasers and repellents," he took his paw away from hers and instead placed it against the side of her cheek, running his thumb through the soft downy fur fondly, his emerald hues never breaking contact with her amethyst ones.

The rabbit shook a little form deep embedded instincts. She remembered how he had reacted to the fox repellent she used to carry. After she had declared that predators were reverting back to their savagery. The way he looked at her then had brought up flashes of Gideon before he gashed her, even today she could see the faint scars in the mirror. Just bringing up the repellent often put her mate in a dark mood, that look mirroring the one he had at the station all those years ago. The vulpine had pulled his paw away as though burnt when he felt her shake. Had he hurt her? She grabbed his paw and put it back against her muzzle, giving him a reassuring smile.

"Sorry, what..."

"Nothing, it's just getting cold," she mumbled as she cut him off.

"You're not still scared of me," he said softly but added uncertainly, "Are you?"

"No, Nick," she shot out instantly not having meant to bring this old conversation back up. "You're my mate, my best friend. I'm not afraid of you, I trust you," she wrapped her arms around his middle in a hug to try and show him that she meant it, her ears were more droopy as they when she was emotional or depressed.

"I wasn't...crap," he groaned, but started to stroke her ears tenderly, his other paw pressing snugly against her back to keep her close to him. "Let's just drop this. I shouldn't of asked that, it was low," he breathed, then kissed her on the brow.

"This is never easy for us is it?" she sighed as her scowl begun to lessen, all the same looking away as she thought about what to say or do. However the answers alluded her. "If only they saw you like I did and put their prejudices aside," she mumbled on, returning to where they left off on their previous conversation. She felt tired and very worn out as the day started to catch up to them that along with the stress this talk was bringing.

"No, it isn't," he pressed his nose against hers, also avoiding the other topic, "but we'll always have each other," he gave her soft, warm lips a soft peck, but avoided from drawing it out, "But, one day we'll tell them, and we'll get to ride along to get a laugh out of it," this time she kissed him, just as he did she didn't let it linger for all that long.

They lay with their noses pressed against their partners, neither of them wanting to leave the intimacy that they shared, not yet at least. It was uncomfortable though, the seats of the police vehicle not meant for this kind of use, but they simply chose to ignore it. The fox had returned to stroking the side of his wife's face, thinking about everything that they had said, knowing that she was right, even if he didn't think so. They couldn't keep this up forever. It was either going to be on their own terms or someone putting two and two together and spreading inaccurate rumors about the two of them.

"I can't believe I'm saying this," he mumbled, leaving the rabbit confused as she had no inclination to what he was talking about.

"You're not saying anything," she poked him in the chest, he tensed feeling the tip of her claw dig through his shirt a little. It tickled but he wouldn't tell her that, seeing that she would exploit it for her own personal gains.

"I am now," he rolled his eyes with a little scolding shake of his head. "How about we use two weeks of our vacation time...to go spend it with your family, at the farm," he added in a soft undertone, "and tell your parent's about us."

"We don't have to if you don…."

"It's not that I want to, but you're right, they need to know, it's not a good idea to keep our parents int he dark about this," he dreaded even thinking about how those two….these two weeks would go. How he'd tell his mother about them would be just as awful.

"If you're absolutely certain you're okay with this," her tone soft and trying to console her fox, who she could see had a turmoil of emotions and thoughts running around in his head, all from just seeing the grimace he wore.

"I am," a smirk shone through his grimace. "Say….is there such thing as rabbit repellent," she punched him in the stomach and hard.

"Not funny."

"Oh...oh no! It totally is...the look on your face," he sucked in a breath ruggedly and let it out hoarsely, finding it difficult to breathe from the sharp ache in his sternum and his snickering

"Anyways it's for my protection from your fam...…ohh…...Ju…..owe, Judy!….Jud….stop-stop it," she threw more light punches at him till he caught her by the wrists, and pulled her against him in the relatively large confines of the car. Her paws were trapped between them. "I'm filing domestic abuse one of these days," he laughed and she did as well, not because what he said was particularly funny but because she enjoyed the sound their voices made together.

"Who are they going to believe, a little bunny, or a vicious, slick predator," she smiled at him evilly, her eyes gleaming playfully.

"I'm pretty sure I can persuade anyone to see things my way."

"Keep telling yourself that if it makes you feel better," she nuzzled his cheek with her own, an intimate gesture for both of their species. He smiled, dropping their playful argument to enjoy what she was doing to him since they didn't nuzzle as they were that much.

"When we get in go take a shower, Carrots," he purred as she pulled away from him appearing reasonably content. "I'll have dinner ready when you get out," he licked her nose before he sat up, nudging for her to do the same.

"What are you planning?" she asked as they both dropped out of the car and started to lock it down.

"Well, salad, carrots all the bunny food you love," he still hated prey food, but at least he had gotten healthier since he started eating her diet. "Also some crickets and fruits, if that sounds good with you?"

"Yep," she bounced over to him, before matching his laid-back strides. This was another example of how they were opposites in almost every way. The way he walked, collective, calm, almost like he was strutting, not in any hurry to get anywhere anytime soon, then there were her energetic, impatient and edgy ones, as though she was about to burst into a sprint.

Something or the other must have been amusing to the fox as he chuckled as they headed out of the apartment's garage, heading to the complex they shared with other animals. The rabbit ignored her husband's snickering, as she looked around their neighborhood which was a relatively quiet area, most of the animals living together in harmony. Sure there was the occasional scruff but nowhere was perfect. It was nowhere close to how bad it was living in the apartment that she stayed at when she first got to Zootopia. It hadn't been an awful place to live, but her two loud arguing neighbors had made it difficult to sleep some nights. Along with their creepy and suggestive behavior when they tried to talk to her.

That and when Nick moved in, there was barely any room to move about in the small confines, let alone share a rickety old bed that creaked loudly with the stress of two animals sleeping on it. The groaning of the barely double sized bed had gotten their neighbors arguing on more than one occasion, one defending them while the other was yelling at them and his roommate to shut up. They had moved out of there almost thirteen months ago, thank the gods.

Recently they were searching for an actual house to purchase, the apartment was only temporary, seeing as they both wanted more room for different reasons. Nick wanted more room so he could get his old belongings out of storage, paranoid that some animal was going to steal it all. Judy wanted more space, having grown up on a large farm she felt somewhat claustrophobic in their current apartment, the last one had been a nightmare, often times she pushed nick out of bed in the middle of the night, that and stealing the blanket. Which had earned her being referred to being the _notorious blanket thug._

Nick chuckled again and she once again ignored it, her thoughts on their future home, when they got around to purchasing one. They either wanted something urban or a little bit more out of the city, but close enough so they could stay in the First Precinct. Something that was a mix between the two would be perfect. This wasn't to say Savannah Central wasn't perfect, it just wasn't right for them. If everything went well this year and the next, they should be able to finally afford a new place, for now they just had to make the best of what they had.

"JUDITH! she jumped as she heard her husband practically scream her full name, her sensitive ears lowering in annoyance and pain. She looked up at him with a scowl that she knew he thought was adorable, but wouldn't dare voice it, if he valued his tail being non-knotted that was.

"Been talking to you for a while now, guess you weren't exactly here," he mused with a grin, seeing as he had caught her being distracted, which wasn't often, normally it was him.

"Sorry, but you didn't have to yell," she grouched.

"Did, or you would of walked straight into the door," he covered his face with a paw and shook his head with a rueful smile.

The rabbit looked around realizing that they were outside their apartment door. She smiled impishly, pulling at her ears, feeling a little humiliated. Why? She didn't know. There was no one around, just them and the usual busy sounds of their neighbors, that and the city outside.

"You feeling okay?" he pressed a paw against her forehead. "Nope, you definitely got crazy cute bunny fever," her eyes narrowed as she glared at him, thumping an aggravated hind-paw against the thinly gray carpeted corridor. The desire to slap that grin off his devious, charming face becoming overwhelming.

But he caught her off guard as he leaned down, resting his paws on his knees so he was eye level with her. He smirked at her evilly before he kissed her nose. They had agreed some time ago that they would save displays of affection for when they were sure they were alone, or in the safety of their apartment. In the case that there were unwelcome eyes watching them, she shoved his face away, making it appear as though she was laughing it off.

"Save it for later, Nicky," he groaned out in complete disgust, shaking his head irritably.

He threw open the door, shoving her into their apartment in aggressiveness; the last thing he wanted was someone hearing her use one of his other horrible pet-names. For one reason or another, she had adopted to using the one that Mr. Big had given him, either to torture him, or because his assumptions that bunnies imaginations were just as small as them.

"You're mean, you're a heartless cruel little bunny," he accused as he slammed the door, then proceeded to strip himself of his police gear, his wife joining him, working on getting the semi-boot-straps off her aching hind-paws.

"And this is new to you?" her voice full of mock surprise, her muzzle twinging in pain, as the days activities caught up with her.

"Seems that my magic paws have some work to do tonight ," he purred huskily, eyes glimmering with mischief.

"No, really," she gasped, holding a paw to her mouth in mock-surprise, shooting her ears up as well, "I've been running all about the place all day long, chasing bad guys on hot sand and scolding asphalt," she flung the stretchy material of her hind-paw coverings which he caught.

"Ohhhhhh, such a poor hippity hoppity rabbit," he pressed the back of his paw to his head, before his composure broke and he fell into a fit of snickering. He dodged the other covering as he fought to get a grip on his chuckles. When he had calmed down enough, he added with a smile.

"Hush up and go take a shower," he gave the side of her muzzle a nuzzle, not able to help himself. He was feeling strangely more affectionate than he normally was after sorting through paper cut detail. She shoved his face away once again. He knew he had teased her too much, as such she would be coming up with some way to get back at him.

The tod gave his partner a look-over, seeing that she was only in her habitual black sports bra and boy shorts, this being her usual relax ware at home. That was unless they had guests, where she would put on a pair of gym shorts instead. She wasn't comfortable with showing so much of her bare self in front of anyone besides him, while he had proved on quite a few occasions that he didn't really care if anyone saw him, that being a story for another time.

"I'll be out in a bit," Judy grinned before she spun around and headed to their bedroom.

Nick swiped at her fluffy tail, barely grazing the soft-downy fur, making her squeak as it sent a rush of instinctual fear through her. She threw back a death glare that was ineffective, seeing as the sides of her face had darkened to a shade of crimson. A moment passed as he thought about trailing after her, however he decided against it, or they'd never get to dinner or anything else that night.

Once his mate had disappeared behind their bedroom door, he gave himself a glance over, considering if he should change into something else. He was just in a pair of average gray gym shorts and a green Hawaiian T. Shrugging his shoulder, he decided that there was no real reason to spiffy himself up, seeing as this wasn't a date or a special occasion.

After he had thrown the collective pile of police gear onto their bed, only so it could be sorted through later, he stopped where he was. His black tipped ears having caught the sound of his wife singing as she took her shower, more than likely it was along with one of Gazelle's songs. Without saying a word or even staying to listen in on her, he headed back into the rest of their apartment, with a grin that soon spread into a wide smile.

They were home, after a long day at work, in his case it had been an extraordinarily drawn out one. Now they were finally back in the welcomed familiarity of their home. All the stress and seriousness of work having been left behind them, all that could wait till their alarm clock woke them up and they started out another day full of what was their habitual routine.

The fox rummaged through the fridge, taking out what they needed for dinner and got to work at preparing it. It didn't honestly take that long, the only part of the meal that really took some time, were the bugs. Both of them hated it when they were raw, which was strange for him since he had loved them that way when he was a cub, that was what his mother had told him at any rate.

Similar to this, things changed, much like ones fur, marriage, or even their job, nothing was ever definite and nothing was ever predictable in life. This was something he had come to accept in life, especially with how things had turned out in the last four years.

This one little prospect of life wasn't exactly all that bad, that was as long as he had Judy in his life, then everything would work out for the best. That was because the seemingly endless kicking and adversity of the day to day, were almost a nonentity while there was someone else sharing it with him. It was silly how that worked out, nevertheless it did and he couldn't complain, not with how everything was looking up for them. Enough so that he could curl up at night with his wife in his arms, having gone another day without being driven insane from the total chaos and madness that was their life as police officers. How he wished he could have known what kind of trouble was laying hidden beyond the crest of the horizon.

* * *

 _ **HI:** **If you see this it means I've updated, and corrections have been made, also some new snippets I just wanted to add. Don't worry nothing major, and I just wanted to add more to the JudyxNick scene. Catch you on future chapters. In addition, I've decided to add quotes at the beginning of each chapter that I feel work with it. Only chapters one through 3 so far have them, that's because I'm currently in the process of updating the chapters as we go. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, till next time.**_

 **HI: Probably lamest way to introduce that, XD. Well I'm no good at these things so I'll try to make this brief, I said try. Any who, many of you may not know who I am so I'll introduce myself, I'm Reverend Archangel or also more commonly referred to as JFR. I've been off writing for a little while now, not been able to get much inspiration or to do anything. Then I saw some of the trailers for Zootopia and I got inspired to write again. I think it was a great movie and I loved the relationship between Judy and Nick.**

 **Ooh, forgot to mention this. This story will contain spoilers and some deviations from the actual movie in some areas. For starters, Nick and Judy are four years older than they were at the end of the events of Zootopia(This has been updated thanks to a review by Kaoru-Yuki, pointing out some stuff that I hadn't seen. I made a mistake with my math and overlooked some minor details. Thanks again Kaoru-Yuki). Judy will be 28 years old, since she was roughly around 23 go 24 years old in the movie. Nick was in my opinion 27 years old during the events of the movie, so he will now be 31.**

 **I simply did some tweaks on Judy's math when she added up all the years Nick had been tax evading. As he states in the movie he made $200 everyday x 365 days = $73000 x 20 years = $1,460,000. Now if you do $267.67 everyday x 365 days = $97,333.34 x 15 years = $1,460,000.**

 **Now I know, what's four years. But if I was to continue with the Zootopia's plot which had Nick resting a 32 years old with Judy being 24, plus the 4 years that my story takes place, he would be 36 and she would be 28. Sure only eight years apart but to me that just doesn't sound right to me. Sorry but here's my reasoning. If Nick has been working with Mr. Big he would be making more money then he would be on his own with Finnick. Yes I know that Mr. Wilde and Mr. Big didn't get along after he sold him a rug made from a skunks butt, but we never got the precise time when Nick fell out of line with the arctic shrew crime lord. So my guess is a year or even two years prior. But with extra money he made with working with the biggest crime boss in Zootopia, I think my theory is sound enough (Also in regard to most if not all Zootopia animals, that we saw, it seems that three fingers and a thumb are the norm, so the middle finger in this world acts as the wedding-ring finger because of a lack of a pinkie). Well now that I've bored you with my math, let's move on.**

 **I want you guys to know this story is rated between T-M, roughly will be between 16 + in many areas as we continue down the way, it may change to M along the way. There will be profanity used, there will probably be drug and alcohol use, and lastly some pretty heavy descriptive scenes both romantically speaking (this means possible passionate scenes) and violently speaking. The rating will rest on T unless I get five PM and or reviews stating that it has to go up to M. I just want to make that clear for everyone. Also the cover image was not done by me, it is by Pinguinolog, so the credit is all theirs. That being said, that is it folks. I hope to get chapters out every week, maybe four or five days at the least. So please review, favorite, follow, view, if you could, your thoughts and comments let me know as a writer if I am doing well. This is R.A. till the next chapter comes out, peace. Just in case this was missed. !CONTAINS SPOILERS!**


	2. 11-99!

**_Chapter_**

 ** _II_**

 ** _11-99!_**

 _"Death never comes at the right time, despite what mortals believe. Death always comes like a thief." Christopher Pike_

 _"Death hangs above our heads throughout the daily routines of life, akin to an omnipresent executioner. Striking without warning, with or without suffering, and it waits for no one." Reverend Archangel_

* * *

Three weeks had come and gone, since Nick had brought up the proposition to tell Judy's parents that they were a married couple, that and they had been for some time now. Ever since then, they had planned to use the first two weeks of this upcoming June to go spend time at her family's ranch, that as well as informing her family about their upcoming visit, plus some possibly unsettling news. From what she had told him after she had called her parents, they sounded excited about seeing the both of them, that he was sure wouldn't last once their ears got a loud of what they had to say. Fortunately it would be the second time they had met face to face. The first time was in no littler words, tense. His mate had invited them for his graduation, trying to warm them up to different kinds of predators, especially foxes because they didn't know all that many, also they still held so little trust for them. It had truly been edgy then, but this was roughly three years ago, surely by this point in time things had evened out between them.

Stu and Bonnie before they had met him had been making an effort to work alongside predators, both trying to put their old prejudices aside. What had made the entire ordeal so shaky at Wilde's graduation was that his partner had told them all about his old life, though they sympathized with his rough childhood, they weren't at all impressed with the path he had taken till their daughter met him. That story in itself had also led to more friction between them, they were not at all pleased to learn that he had been a downgrading, dream crushing, jerk. Be it he was the jerk who stuck things out with her, and actually helped her on her make or break case, but still a jerk all the while. He had been able to get them to warm up to him at least a little before they left for home, half a day talking to them had definitely helped.

The fox was actually rather fond of his wife's parents, he really was, seeing as they were decent people, who were entertaining to listen to and chat with. Unfortunately though, it would appear that the picture their daughter had drawn for them had shown anything but a good mammal underneath his fur and sharp fangs. It was his partner's fault why they saw him the way they did, but he couldn't hold it against her, even if it was his past self, it was still a part of him. Similar to how he was a cunning and charming fox, she was a sincere and merciful bunny, when she wanted to be. She was the one who had given him more chances than he deserved, since he had treated her so poorly when he was assisting her with her case. True the rabbit had gotten her revenge by hustling him to help her with her case, it was basically lawful conscription and a lot better than serving his time for tax evasion.

Still even today he couldn't grasp how his mate was the way she was, seeing who her parents were, and he didn't mean this disrespectfully. It was because they all shared similar traits, but he didn't understand where she had learned to seek out another animals true self, instead of what was on the outside. Something he himself had done on a regular basis as a con-artist, if he understood the animal for who they were, then he could make them buy things or do things they usually wouldn't because they would trust him, till they figured out his game, which had led to them trying to kill him to just stomping him to the curb if they caught him.

How this simple way of cheating society from anyone and everyone had changed when she had stalked in on his life. A valedictorian forced meter maid who became the indomitable rabbit officer at the 1st Precinct. While he, well he still hadn't much to show for himself, he was a good cop who got along great with most of the animals at Zootopia. But he was just that, first fox officer, partner to Judy Hopps. Both who were the faces of the ZPD since they were the first of their species to get where they were, proving the quote, "Where anyone can be anything." He though still had a lot to prove to everyone that he belonged where he was.

He wanted to prove to everyone that he had fought tooth and claw to graduate Zootopia's Police Academy and had received the Valedictorian in his class with hard work. Similar in regards to his mate, and that he was more than just a fox, he was Nicholas Piberius Wilde. Police officer of the 1st Precinct, husband to Judy Hopps-Wilde, they hadn't decided on a surname yet. An officer who wanted to prove he was more than just what people believed he was because of his species. That he hadn't swindled to get where he was now. But really, the truth of the matter was that he mainly wanted to convince himself, so he could convince his mate's parents that he was a good male. Who wanted nothing more than their daughter to be content, also with someone who they knew could keep her safe.

So if one was to ask if this reynard was an anxious bundle of fur, all due to this visit that was roughly nine months away. He was, very much so. An average animal only got so many chances till they ran out, a fox though was held to a lower bar. His in laws first impressions were from his wife's recount about their crazy adventure, and how they became friends. Second impression was them meeting him at his graduation where he had confirmed everything their daughter had told them. If this third one didn't change their opinion of him, he would just have to get used to having in-laws that would never truly accept him.

It had only been three weeks and already he was regretting having even suggested, further more going along with it all. This wasn't because his mate had been acting weird, not in the slightest, everything was normal, everything was great between them. It was him. No matter what she told him, or what he told himself, he was utterly, beyond all words freaking out about meeting her parents again. This time though with surprising them with. _Hello, as you know I'm your daughter's partner and best friend. Well in addition to that, come give me a grand old big hug, because I'm your son in law, yep that's right all this is married to your daughter, just wanted you to know that, hope you approve._

If that wasn't bound to impress them and keep things oh so jolly-full and peaceful between everyone then nothing would. Something he hadn't exactly shaken off was his cynicism, which came out from time to time. What would be actually said to Stu and Bonnie Hopps wouldn't be anywhere close to how he sarcastically thought about it, but their reactions would still be the same. Anger, disappointment, they would definitely feel hurt from not being told, humiliated even since their daughter and her mate couldn't trust them. This could even cause more tension between Judy's father, and him, plus give or take a few of her brothers and sisters probably shared similar dislike to foxes, one reason being because one had clawed their older sister when she was a kit.

Wilde let out a pitiful groan as he slid down the driver's seat of the parked police cruiser, wiping his face with a paw. It had already been a long day for him, only longer since these thoughts were popping up more frequently than any other day. He gave a diminutive glance over his right shoulder, staring at the void passenger seat, which had been absent of a certain bunny all day. She had unfortunately caught a cold Sunday night from some-animal at the movie theater. It was now Tuesday and when she had woken up today she wasn't really feeling that much better than she had Monday. Her pink nose was crimson and blocked from constantly having to blow it into tissues, that and her eyes were bloodshot. Lastly her fur was sickly and greasy looking, like she hadn't bathed for weeks. She had pleaded and demanded that he just staid away from her, or he would get it and then they would really be in for the worst time. For once he hadn't argued or even given a silly quip, he had given her a sad smile, knowing that she was miserable. That and there was nothing he could do for her, which a mate should do naturally, he had felt torn being told not to help her or even go near her so he could try to comfort her.

This was due to the reason that her species along with many others could get over colds and flues. Foxes though weren't as lucky, and when they got under the weather with a cold or even just the flue it was to the hospital if it wasn't treated properly within the first two days. They were like every other animal though when it came to other sicknesses, it was just with these two illnesses that made their life's suck.

Nick had found this out the hard way when he was twelve years old, having run away from home after being expelled from junior high. His expulsion, from the accounts of some of the staff, was because he had apparently stolen one of the teachers cars and crashed it into a ditch somewhere in Tundratown. There was no proof and the police had been gracious enough to just let him go with a pat on the back. But this didn't stop him from being expelled, and the district warning others that he was a menace and not to accept him. This had dashed all his hopes of moving onto high school or to any further levels of education, even today he didn't understand why he had been the leading suspect to what happened to his math teachers car.

This was all beyond the point, when he was twelve he had gotten sick as he was practically living on the streets, with a lack in nutrition along with all the good vitamins a growing fox like him needed. The first day he had gotten a headache that refused to shift, which he thought was just because he was dehydrated from spending all day in Sahara Square. Second day one of his nostrils annoyingly got blocked on top of the headache now migraine. The third day found him coughing, along with that he couldn't smell anything or even breathe through his nose. The fourth day he was sweaty, shivering, looking at things with his eyes had become agonizing from how bloodshot they had become, still he refused to seek out any sort of help. Fifth day he was delirious, the inside of his ears feeling as they were full with water, it felt like his skin was on fire when even the littlest amount of light met his fur.

By the sixth day he was gone mentally, some of his senses had abandoned him, all except a sharp aching pain that rattled his entire body when he breathed. In all honesty he had no idea where he was, all that he could remember of it was that he was in complete agony, making him more miserable than he had ever been in his entire life. He must have passed out because he had woken up four days later in a hospital, some IVs and other weird devices fixed into his body to keep him alive. The doctors had given him antibiotics and other drugs when an officer had found him in an alleyway shivering and growling at anything that came nearby.

Nick had dismissed himself five days after he was admitted into the hospital, with a medical bill that he had thought of tearing apart, but he hadn't, his mother had taught him from an early age to never leave a debt unpaid. This bill was one of the leading reasons why he had avoided his taxes for fifteen years and also why he became a con-artist in the first place, besides meeting Finnick, all of his hustles just so he could pay off his damn medical bills.

So with these past experiences still fresh in his mind, along with his wife's knowledge of his kind, today he had left his mate alone like she had asked. All this due because of how truly awful a fox got it when they got something as pathetic as a cold. He earnestly hoped that she would be feeling better tomorrow, knowing very well she hated missing work, since she believed that every day was a day to make a difference. Missing out on work took away from helping animals, and also left the station short an officer. For both their sake's he hoped she was getting better, sleeping on the couch these last few days was murder on his back. As it were he was finding it to be a very slow day without the enthusiastic bunny and with the recent uncomfortable nights. Not that today was practically exciting, but he was sure that Judy would make the most of it. Even if it was only patrolling the border between the Rainforest and Sahara District, where he mainly kept an eye on the roads and made sure no one was going over the speed limit, or was up to any unusual business.

This assignment was fine by him, much better being here then behind a desk any day of the week, even on Monday's when the only thing anyone wanted to do was to stay in bed for a few hours longer. The exception once again being his mate along with Clawhauser, who was surprisingly very chirpy in the mornings. How his partner woke up being energetic and with a smile to greet the day was beyond him. Seeing her like this made him smile in the mornings but that was about it. Sassing the chief was definitely a close second.

Her being sick did give him some time to himself, which was a little pleasant, he guessed. He spent the little amount of time he got alone to work on matters that he didn't want her to find out about, not at the moment at least. He glanced over at the clock on the dashboard and saw that it was almost….fifteen hundred, his partner even changed the car's clock, interesting, he hadn't ever noticed that before, or hadn't given it much attention. Normally because she was the one driving, that and he never gave the clock that much attention. He usually kept a look out for suspicious activity while she took them where they needed to go. Taking his eye's away from the dash he peered out the window seeing the roads were relatively soaked and muggy, the usual to expect from this district.

Even with all the windows and doors shut he could spell the damp earthy smell, which was calming. He couldn't imagine living here though, it was constantly raining till it broke for a few hours of intense sunlight, only to go back to raining. Also every-time he stepped outside to do something his paws got covered in mud and fallen foliage, making it a chore to scrape it off. The only break in the never ending pattering of rain on the metal body of the car was the seldom vehicle that drove by, it's lights reflecting off the glossy surface of the road. Some of the birds that flew past were impressive, though he couldn't see much of their colors from how dark it was because of the dense canopy. It was both light and dark, which messed heavily with his night vision, making everything stand out grey with a lot more emphasis on the lighter colors, making them appear to be white. If he was in any other district he'd have to be wearing his shades so the light natural light of the sun didn't hurt his eyes. All the joys of being a nocturnal predator.

The tod rubbed his eyes and blinked them a few times as their was a flash of lightening to his left, soon followed by a thunderous boom. Along with Rainforest's artificial climate, it did rain here naturally, not as much as it needed, hence why the environment had been built. From what he could remember from school, it pulled water from the large Oasis which was more of a lake than anything else. Both Tundratown and Rainforest District pulled moisture from the large water source, recycling it through more complicated systems, but he would have learned more about them if he had gone to high school. He pulled his thoughts away from these matters as he an eighteen wheeler came around the bend, blaring its horn obnoxiously.

The fox's ears lowered from annoyance from the loud racket outside his vehicle, trying his best to pay it no mind he angled his body so he was facing the middle console. After opening it he reached into it and brought out a thick yellowish envelope, then proceeded to undoing the flexible metal clasp. What he pulled out were several dozen white slips which he promptly started to look over, searching for the one that he had left off on. His paw held onto each one with a gentle grasp, considering how much they meant to him. That and they weren't in the slightest way related to work. He was confident in knowing that they'd effect both his mate and and himself in every little way at the ZPD. A benign smirk broke out across his otherwise serious lined lips, not having shown Judy the papers just yet. For one he wanted to keep it as a surprise a little bit longer. Secondly he was fairly certain that she would kill him in a back-breaking hug that would undoubtedly follow.

As he read through what the individual slips of paper had printed on them he would jot down what was asked of him, being entirely honest when it asked for it. Judy would have to do fill these out herself as well. Bu he wanted to see what kind of questions they asked before he showed her. Above all else though he wanted to see if he would meet the requirements first, not wanting to get his partner's hopes up just to be crushed due to him. Personally he didn't think that they would get many confirmations all because of his behalf, but it was better to at least search instead of just giving up entirely. He usually wasn't this pessimistic on anything else he put his mind to, but with the prospect of having children it had always been there. This being the case since he had given up the while idea of having any years back when he had become a con-artist. His old life had revolved around in all sorts of hustles and deals, nothing along the lines of drugs or dangerous exports and imports for the most part, mainly selling people dishonest wares. It still wasn't a fit enough environment to have kids around.

These slips of paper were adoption requirement letters, all of which had the necessary information that was needed to adopt, plus they had the fill out forms attached to them. It was to insure that animals who wanted to adopt would keep the information sent about the children they were taking care of secret, not to share anything about them before they were adopted with anyone the expected expectations. This was the most common first acknowledgement he had to sign and agree to. The questions that were asked or the information that needed to be signed weren't complicated, they were often straightforward, it only became a problem when it asked for personal background records, accounts and the such.

This was what was truly stressing him out, besides his wife being sick and the plans in June, that along with having to pay the taxes he had dodged for fifteen years. Even as an officer they couldn't escape having to do them. The chief had finally looked more into his evasion and cut him some slack and a deal. Keep working for the force and paying back the taxes he owed and he wouldn't bring it up again. It was as good enough of a deal as any he had made.

This little fact about his tax evasion though, he personally felt that it could possibly ruin any chances of Judy and him adopting. He would most probably have to make trips to go to the orphanages, so he could explain face to face what he had been and what he was now, along with how he was making amends for what he had done. He wasn't a bad guy and where children were concerned, he loved them, plus they always got along with him. Well the ones that weren't brought up in families who shared prejudices and dislikes for other species.

What mattered was that he loved the idea of having children, a family one day, but when he had become a con-artist he had put it all behind him. Why should he get a mate, much less a child involved in his life, one that he couldn't even bring himself to say he was proud of. It had gotten him by, but that was about it, nothing to be jumping for joy about when added to a resume or these forms. Though ever since he had graduated the academy these old dreams and emotions that he had once felt at the prospect of being a father started coming back again. Seeing that he now had a more stable life than he had back then, along with a partner who actually wanted a family, with him.

Besides, his mate and him couldn't have kids, they weren't exactly...in easier words to say, compatible in that area. They never would be, and not for a lack of trying; simply put, their actual chemistry and chromosomes weren't exactly on the same level. There were new methods of gene splicing that scientists had come up with, but this was often expensive and didn't always work, that and all reports showed that they were sterile and couldn't have kids of their own. If they wanted kids they would have to adopt. This had already been heavily discussed between them, though they had both wanted to avoid it like most couples did. It had been brought up one day as these kind of conversations always were. If memory served right it had been, an exact year ago, September 19. So it was the twenty-third today, a year and four days since they had this sensitive talk.

If his memory served him right, they had gone out to eat during lunch one weekend, having taken their food to one of the parks. Prior to this, Judy had been acting a little odd for the past week or so, instead of being boisterous and talkative like she usually was, she had been very quiet and had purposely avoided animals, especially at the station. This planned picnic of sorts that he had set up, was all for the purpose so he could figure out what was exactly the matter. Soon enough he had found out that she had been thinking of children and for some time, having told him as much. This had led to her explaining that because they were together, neither of them could ever have their _own_ kits, cubs, kittens what have it, they couldn't. He could still remember that she had broken into tears during their talk, his own eyes had been watery with pressed back tears, ones that he had desperately tried to keep in check.

It took a lot to get him to show this vulnerable side of himself, but this was one topic that had made his walls utterly collapse. It wasn't seeing her that completely made him break down alongside her, but the guilt. Judy being with him had taken one thing she had wanted more than being an officer, and that was children, her own children. The same was for him, being with the female he loved had the same results as hers. He might have been sobbing even harder than her, from both the guilt and as the realization had finally hit him.

Sooner than later, they had calmed down enough so that he could mention the idea of adoption. This had both made her cry twice as hard, but also he witnessed her being the happiest he had ever seen her. Also she had tackled him with a death hug that he was pretty sure popped one of his ribs. Still he could remember holding the shaking and sobbing rabbit to him tightly, telling her that everything would work out for the best, that there was nothing for them to worry about.

The fox would do anything to make his mate happy, if she wanted to have kittens or cubs, then he was more than willing to adopt with her. Hence the reason to why he had gotten these forms several months ago, and why he had been looking into without a word to her. It was best that he didn't get her hopes up too much, just so that the orphanages informed them that they weren't fit enough to be able parents, just because of his colored record. They may not be able to adopt this year or the next, but at least they would be in contact with the orphanages that would hopefully accept him therefore her. They'd be ready to take on the roles of being parents when the time felt right to them, and once they settled into a larger home.

With these memories and hopes at the forefront of his mind he read aloud to the empty car one of the questions. "Have you ever committed a felony? Why yes, how polite of you to ask on your first question, Mister...Little Lamplight Orphanage."

"If you filled in yes, please circle any of the following you have committed, if not labeled circle other, and we will send you a further form or contact you to discuss this mentioned other felony. Seems pretty straight forward, doesn't it?" he asked the empty seat to his left. "Alright give me the cold shoulder, smartarse," he mumbled underneath his breath.

He read through the listed crimes, marking the the ones he had committed. Such examples were breaking and entering, though he could hardly be held accountable for that one, it wasn't his fault the landlord had given him the wrong room number and the wrong key. Most of his other crimes were misdemeanors, besides the obvious ones that were felonies. He had once aggravated in addition to mouthing off to an officer, but that was because the wolf was being a jerk and abusing his authority when giving him a fine for parking in the wrong spot. It wasn't just his mate he used to give grief to for being an officer, considering that he was one himself now, he did it a little less often. When he did, he would mostly do it to prove a point to one of his associates who he knew was in the wrong.

"T….tax evasion…you're kidding," the fox shook the paper as though to shake the nonsense out of it. Letting out a sigh then looked up at the roof of the car with a half-amused smile. "Think of everything don't they," he added as he started putting the forms back in the envelope, having spent enough time working on them while on duty. More than likely he'd work on them a little more tonight once his wife was asleep, he had a feeling that he'd be sleeping on the couch again. Tearing his mind from these future plans and tonight's sleeping arrangement he looked outside only to be greeted by.

"Let's see rain, rain…..some more rain…and lightening...and there it is the thunder, also a lot more rain," he mumbled, the desire to pull some-animal for speeding or slipping up becoming agonizingly strong. Yet he'd have to wait, seeing that the vehicles passing by were doing what the posted speed limit was. He begun to drum his claws on the steering wheel, keeping an eye on both the vehicles passing his cruiser, and the LiDAR. What he noticed was that most if not all the drivers were doing the speed limit. There were a few that were going a kilometer or two over the limit, but that wasn't worth his time, anything from five to ten above was his cue to intervene. That and the rap that the police had with the common animal in their city wasn't all that great, too many random and uncalled for tranqings had occurred over the last decade. If they truly wanted animals to comply with them and to help them bring peace and security to the city and to the lives of everyone who inhabited it. They'd have to start showing that animals could trust them, that they were there to protect them and to uphold the law, not to be afraid and angered by the very mention of them intervening.

Nick was tempted to take his phone out, if only to see if he had any unread messages, or to just update his furbook account, though he decided against it. Judy had her own, plus they were friends on most of the socially connected networks, if she saw that he was being overly active on his account, all she had to do was call the station and inform them that he was slacking off on his duties. This hadn't happened as of yet, because he took his job more seriously than everyone jokingly gave him credit for. That and the very real reality of getting on the wrong side of their boss. Sure his threats, yelling and otherwise tough-guy demeanor did little to faze him, but extra work loads were something he very much wished to avoid.

Being an average slow Tuesday, the tod wouldn't have minded some extra work, he wouldn't even of minded having to fill out some forms as he was doing this. It would give him something else other than getting a stiff rear, while being parked off to the side of the road, listening to the constant pounding of the rain hitting the canopy of his car. He wouldn't even of cared if he was sent to Tundratown for a day, it saw way more action for some reason then it's polar opposite, the Sahara District. He could hope that he would see some kind of activity while driving back to the station to clock-out. Well, he could just clock-out on his phone seeing as he could connect it to the stations network as he along with many other officers had access to it. Nevertheless, something needed to happen.

"Station to cruiser 174, it's been quarter of an hour past 11-97, is everything alright?" the speaker from the two way radio broke the mind numbing pattering.

"This is Officer Wilde of cruiser 174, everything is alright on this end," Nick spoke into the receiver, face-palming himself with a decently loud thump.

"10-4, be on mind, no more lake check ins. Just an FYIO, the chief's been smacking down on it more of late, over an out,"

"10-4 over an out, thanks station for the update."

"Damn it. Well that's going to be brought up tomorrow morning. Right, just pin it on Clawhauser listening to his music again," he mumbled as he put the receiver back, but since the cheetah had just contacted him he couldn't see that going too well.

The fox laid back in his seat, letting the next three quarters of an hour slip passed him, all the while keeping a vigilant eye on monitoring the cars and trucks whizzing by. Besides pulling over a van from the Naturalists Club that morning, he hadn't been busy. Sitting around all day doing almost nothing wasn't how he imagined getting paid. He like many other animals when younger had laughed on how it would be great if things worked out like that, but from today and many prior experiences it would be a very boring way to make a living.

 _Should of brought my auxiliary cord or some discs with music on them…...Wait didn't I leave my cord in the…_

The tod wasn't able to finish his train of thought as a car went roaring past, going way over the posted limit as far the LiDAR was concerned anyways. Flipping his lights and sirens on, he tried to pull out of his hiding spot, but was forced to impatiently wait as a bus seemingly took longer to get by him. As it finally got out of his way, he floored the gas down and pulled out into the lane the supposedly thought to be racer headed.

A few minutes later and he had caught up to the car, yet it wasn't showing any signs of slowing down. Maybe the driver hadn't seen the flashing lights, maybe he left them off or their circuitry had been drowned by the constant downpour. That was soon proven wrong as he could see the police lights reflecting off the wet road and the signs that blurred pass them. Whoever this animal was, they were in a hurry to get somewhere, his thoughts took him to teenagers, they were always trying to do something stupid, or it could have been an adult who had a bad day. Either way if this kept going on he was going to have to call for some back up.

The vehicle he was pursuing had a glossy black paint job with silver racing stripes down both sides with a strip that started from the rear fender all the way to the grill. A sleek body, so it must have been a sports car of some sorts. As he pursued it around the usual bends and turns, he had to take them harder from the speeds they were accelerating to as they were streaking across the wet road. From what he was able to identify from the fleeing vehicle, he found that it reminded him of Flashes, just that the paint job was different. Not that it mattered, it seemed that he was going to have to call this in, or he'd just be following this guy till one of them ran out of fuel, or in the least likely event caused an accident.

Seeing as there was no other cause of action he reached for the receiver, about to call in for some assistance, but the car started to finally decelerate. Warily he pulled his paw away, curious to see where this was going, though his law drilled mind demanded that he report this strange activity, but he foolishly ignored it. Even as he felt a strange tingling at the back of his skull, , almost like a sixth sense but he just shook it off as simple irrational paranoia. For all he knew the driver was drunk or had been on their phone or any other assortment of affairs.

The sports car soon pulled off to the side of the road with him stopping six meters or so away. Grabbing his hat from the passenger seat he set it on his head, might as well look professional as he did this, that and it would keep the downpour that had started out of his eyes. Lastly he took out a flipbook and a pen from the glove compartment before he got out of the cruiser. Both the vehicles camera and the microphone on his uniform recording which sent what it picked up on to the vehicle. This was another technical addition made by Chief Bogo, the reason being that it would assist in the trials of the convicted, providing more visual and audio evidence. Sometimes animals didn't know how to shut up, also some just didn't care about their Miranda Rights, often condemning themselves without the aid of a prosecutor.

As the fox officer approached the other vehicle he stopped so he could scribble down the license plate, all before he started jotting down more distinguishing and unique markings on the car, such as how it was painted, along with the rims it had. Not wanting to miss anything he added a few side notes, seeing there were a few narrowly thin scratches down the left side. Lastly he added the make and the model, his assumptions having been correct, it was the same model as Flash's if not a few years younger.

When he came up to the driver's side he found that the dimmed windows were up, the animal inside was watching him suspiciously. One of the fox's eyebrows rose in irritation before he motioned with a fingers to role it down, growing impatient with the driver's behavior already. The window should have been halfway or even completely down by now. The male pig, for that's what it was, hesitantly complied, his giving him a dark glare. It was too bad, he didn't want to be pulling this teen over anymore than he wanted to be here, more than likely he had been on his way to hang out with some friends.

"Good evening officer," the male grumbled gruffly. It was a teen, maybe nineteen or eighteen, but definitely not in his twenties, the acne that dotted his forehead indicating that much.

"Evening," the fox took on a serious tone, not wanting to appear too friendly. "Well I'll quit formalities and get right to it. Do you know how fast you were going back there?"

"Shouldn't you know, sir?"

"Alright before we say something we may regret later," the officer rose his voice a fraction, the teen not seeming to be fazed in the slightest.

This was starting to become a little suspicious, not often was a teen able to keep their face avoid of all emotion or expression when pulled over. Though it was nothing to go off, considering this wasn't the first animal he had pulled over that acted so indifferent to such a situation.

"I'll tell you, you were going a hundred and fifty kilometers back there. Thirty above the speed limit," the other male simply gave him a darker glare, his eyes squinting a little and his brows furrowing even more, if that was possible.

"Sir before I ask for your license, insurance and vehicle registration I need to know if you are harboring any weapons in your vehicle or on your person?"

"And if I do?" he grumbled out, acting bored.

"Then I'll have to ask you to step out of the car with your hands behind your head. Now do you have any weapons on you, or in the vehicle?" the officer raised his voice up once again, this time with unwavering authority, the notebook and pen having been placed in his jeans' pockets, his hand now resting on the butt of his tranquilizer.

His once thought to be paranoia was now screaming at him that something was very much out of place, but he was still trying to ignore it, he couldn't just pull this teen out of the car due to him being paranoid, or because the kid was being difficult. The boar hadn't actually refused anything he had directed, just directed them into smartarse responses. If it were another officer they would have pulled the teen out for unlawfully refusing an officer's authority, or just called for some back up. He should have done something along these lines, but he was more lenient then his fellow officers.

It was silent for a few tense moments, the officer's uniform having become damp, sticking to his fur uncomfortably from the constant wet bombardment. There was a flash of lightening off int he distance, a few moments passed as the rumbling sound of the thunder followed.

The predator barked, "If you have a weapon on you, you will notify me to where it is, if you do not comply I will have no choice but to place you under arrest for harboring a hidden weapon. Do you understand."

"Mmmmmhmmmm," the kid acknowledged as he nodded, the corners of his lips twitching in amusement. By now the fox's uniform was completely drenched, along with his fur, so much so that he wiped his face and muzzle with a paw, not taking his eyes off the suspiciously acting mammal.

Becoming increasingly more frustrated as the seconds ticked on by, the reynard growled, "I'm going to have to ask you step out of the car, for un-willful disobedience and the failure to comply with an officer. And on the suspicion of harboring an undeclared weapon.

"Well, you got me there," the kid said thoughtfully, before turning his full attention onto the fox. "By the way, it's right here you fucking pelt!" before the officer could do anything else but take a step back and pull out his tranq, a gun was brought over the window.

A thundering crack that was muffled by the heavy rainfall soon filled the air, causing Nick to staggered back from the concussion. He had dropped his weapon that had somehow or another ended up in his paw, as he felt something with the force of a sledgehammer collide with him. His mind barely even registered the car's tires screeching as it took off down the road, skirting from side to side as it momentarily hydroplaned on the slick surface. The only thing that he could properly process was the loud ringing in his throbbing ears, each frantic beat of his heart bringing a painful hammering to the inside of his eardrums. In addition to this, he was unsteadily standing on his paws, but he felt that something was horribly wrong with what had just transpired. Had he just been shot? If this was the case, where? Had this really happened?

His eyes darted down towards his torso, not having noticed he had a paw pressed clenched against the right side of his stomach. With sharp, irregular breaths he removed the wavering paw agonizingly slow, as if removing a band-aid. When the pressure that he had been applying lessened, his own blood instantly begun to slip through and around his fingers, staining the fur an even darker shade of crimson. The stain started to expand outwards, staining through his once clean, crisp, blue police shirt. Cars remained to drive past him, the drivers must of thought he was just standing out in the rain, nothing suspicious or life threatening going on. This was too far from the truth, as his mind started to register the sudden influx of violence that it had just taken.

Snapping his neck to his vehicle he started to trudge to the car, the pain rising in degrees with every act of movement till he was overcome with pain, yelling out in torment with each and every step. Each stride and every pulse from the wound and around it shot through him in enormous bouts of agony. It was much worse than he had ever imagined it or even as the movies portrayed it. This was something that no one could ever truly grasp, the only comparison to such pains was when he had his arm broken when he was eight years old, but the pain now was immensely colossal compared to it.

He suddenly stumbled as his vision had started to become hazy, everything seeming to get dark around him. No, he couldn't black out, first thing they were told if this ever happened was to stay conscious, find or call for help. That was what he was going to do. There wasn't a chance in hell that he could treat this beyond keeping pressure on the wound. He could only hope it hadn't gone all the way through, he would bleed out twice as fast, but then again if the bullet had torn through any major arteries or punctured an organ there was little chance he'd live.

As he got to the front of the car he tripped over his own paw, falling to his knees with a yelp, pain shooting from his knees along with his wound. The level had sky rocketed once again, but it was steadily getting worse as time dragged on by. He tried to get back up on his paws, but each time he got partially up from his knees he collapsed onto the hood, till he finally slumped against it, not able to put himself through it anymore. His mind was thinking irrationally, he wasn't going to be able to move to the door. He was thinking of solutions, anything that could get him away from this pain. He cursed out with a scream as the pain once again went up, his mind and thoughts whirling away from him, as his vision became red, everything that was of a lighter color flashing white in his eyes.

 _Come on…..come on…I don't want to die here, have to get out of here…... losing to much blood...the rain, washing my blood away._ His thoughts ran wild, no longer following any distinct pattern, no longer wanting to make sense, no longer trying to find something to stop the bleeding or pain. _Dead fox, dead fox by his car…...eyes…..amethyst eyes staring into my dead ones…...emeralds no longer shining...stop it, stop it STOP IT! SHUT UP!_ He was panicking, and it was making things worse as his body was shaking and convulsing with every wave of fresh pain that coursed through his body. He had gotten a reign of his thoughts again, at least for now. He brought a paw up to his muzzle, as he started coughing from how raw it felt, though his convulsing continued to rack his body in painful bouts.

The officer didn't feel cold, no he felt hot, feverishly hot, his paw especially, trying to hold back the blood, but feeling the moist warmth of it escaping was unsettling and threatened to make him retch. He gave a morbidly curious glance down to the wound, seeing his blood slipping past the tight gaps of his fingers, staining the red fur a darker crimson. He added more pressure but let out a howl of pure torment as his abused and battered body was tampered with again, only wanting to be left alone.

He couldn't see what was going on around him, the headlights to the car blinding him, were blinding him as they shot ahead. His ears had also gone somewhat deaf, all he could hear around him was the muffled humming of the engine and feel it rumble against his back. No this was wrong! None of this made sense now! How did he get here? Why did he have to pull over that fucking teen?! Why couldn't he have minded his own stupid fucking business for once in his life? Why couldn't have Clawhauser called him to come back to the...

A spark of hope came to him, his mind settled on the radio in the car. He couldn't get to it, his previous attempts to move having proven as much. But it reminded him of the radio on his belt. His free hand grabbed for it, pulling at it free clumsily from its casing. It slipped out of his hand from it shaking the way it was, he tried reaching for it but couldn't pick it up right. He concentrated and went for it again as the blood was now staining the lower half corner of his shirt, staining the top of his black uniform pants as well. Wanting to know so he could see how bad it was he used the back side of his free paw to pat at his back, but felt no moist warmth, just the cold moisture of the rain, that was one less problem he had to deal with, for now at least.

Again he tempted to pick up the slippery radio, when he finally got it, he pressed the button in with a click. "10...7-71…..10-71...11...urhhhhh...11-99...11-99, statio-station, plea...respond," he rasped through his clenched teeth, threatening to crack them from how much he was grinding them.

"10-9, who is this"

"Officer Wilde, 10-71…. 10-53….11-41," he listed, knowing the codes and their meanings by heart, for once feeling grateful that his classes instructor had drummed it into them, and he had taken the initiative to learn memorize them on his own.

"10-4 what's?'

"10-45 B…..use… cruiser 174's….GPS….I'm on…..DAMN IT!…..FUCK! GOD FUCKING DAMN IT" he screamed, as he convulsed, thrashing crazily as his wound had sent out a sharp skewering wave of torturous agony through his body. He hadn't meant for the receptionist on the other side to hear it. He shifted so he wasn't bent over the hood of the car, but slouching against the front of it, sliding down so he was sitting, having somehow gotten to his paws. "Rainforest District…..border on…Sahara Distri…." he whimpered with a pathetic whine, trying to help them the best he could under these circumstances.

"10-4, he-helps o-on...on its way...j-j-j-j-j-j-just stay in there, they'll...b-be there soon," the officer on the other line stumbled over their words, trying to keep a calm tone. It could have been Clawhauser, he didn't know.

The fox's grip on the radio slackened, till it slipped from his paw, clattering noisily against the hard surface of the road. His mind was coming up blank to where _here_ was exactly. Not knowing what was going on or how long it had been. Without his knowledge or comprehension, a couple of cars had stopped on the side of the road to see what was exactly going on, having seen an officer slumped against the grill of their cruiser. They weren't the police or even an EMT, no flashing lights or crisp tidy uniforms, or any intense medical training. They were just civilians, who had pushed all their prejudices and views of his kind. They only saw an officer that needed help, probably making the connection that he was Judy Hopps partner, seeing as he was the only fox officer in the city. They had rushed over to him, one of them had removed his shirt and had used some kind of disinfectant and gauze to stop the bleeding, but kept a warm paw against his wound to keep pressure on it. Someone had also brought out an umbrella to keep the rain off the hastily done medical treatment. They had also called the authorities only to be told that they were already on their way.

Nothing they said or did made that much sense to him, most of it was just garbled sound and fuzzy moving. All he could make out was that the animal holding their paw against his stomach was a tigress, her face having concern written all over it. Her words along with the other animals who were surrounding him were just garble, unimportant and held not an ounce of significance. Unless one considered that they were trying to reassure him and themselves. For once in his life he kept silent, only gasping for air as he felt it becoming harder and harder to breathe, that in addition to the whimpering and growling as he suffered from the pain. He had begun to feel light headed and he started to drift from side to side as he felt off balance and kept trying to stay up. His gaze had remained glued to one of his paws, seeing that he had cracked one of his claws when he had stumbled. The same paw that had his wedding band around his middle digit, which shined brilliantly from all the light reflecting off of it. The road reflected his cruisers interchanging lights which he hadn't gotten the chance to turn off.

The rain pattered against the umbrella above him,along with the steel bodies of the parked vehicles, seemingly an endless force in the Rainforest District as it practically rained all year round, except for the occasional breaks every couple of hours. Even with this constant, he didn't know if he would live or die, his mind wasn't even focusing on this vital piece of information. Instead it flowed to where it wanted, what he personally thought was more important.

Such as the fact that Judy was home right now, with a cold, all alone. More than likely curled up on the couch, listening to music or trying to sleep, coughing and sneezing all the while, constantly blowing her habitually cut pink nose, now red with being blown into the abrasive tissues. She probably had no idea that he was laying here, on the wet asphalt, strangers all around him, as he bled out. Everything going on around him had slowed a considerable amount since these animals had helped, but all the same they were waiting for the ambulance and other officers to arrive to get him proper medical attention. Knowing the 1st Precinct well enough, they were more than likely rushing passed traffic lights and dodging other cars on the road, that and probably breaking the speed limit to try and save one of their own. Funny how speeding was the reason he had ended up like this, and how the only thing that could save him was an animal speeding here in an ambulance.

Nick's thoughts though only returned to think of his wife, his life and how it all had led to this exact moment. Nothing connected to what just happened, it was just a stupid kid who pulled out a gun on a cop, trying to act tough, or try and prove he was tough. A racist kid, but that could easily be pinned to being society's fault. Nonetheless, what he had gone and done had completely ruined this officers day, and probably his partners life for a great period of time if he shouldn't make it.

The fox thought bitterly on how he had strived so hard and for so long to get to where he was, only for it to be snatched away from him as he was dying in complete and utter agony. His years as a con-artist, the case him and Judy had solved together, putting away Bellwether and stopping her plan of being the Mayor. All by using Nigh Howlers on the predators to make them appear to be going savage and by telling everyone it was because of their DNA, how they were reverting back to their roots. Passed this chaotic time in Zootopia to his year at the academy, all the challenges he met there with vigor and with a sense of purpose, knowing that though this wasn't his dream job, it was definitely the second closest calling he had, plus he had the skill for it.

How he had graduated as the top student, making Judy so proud and earning even Chief Bogo's respect who acted as though he didn't care, all of it seemed like it had been a waste. The year of working alongside his rabbit partner, and how they had grown so close till they fell in love and eventually to when they got married whizzed on past his eyes. All the arguments and the time they spent together coming back to him just as quickly as he sat there against his police vehicle. How now he could recollect and examine everything with clarity as it all came crashing upon him, but he didn't believe it was a waste, he didn't know this would happen, no one did. A risk yes, but no one could predict when it would happen. Nothing in his life had been a waste of time now that he had time to examine all his memories, in truth everything that he did was what made him, him.

Not a single moment of it was a mistake, if he did die, there would be regrets. They'd be how he had approached some animals, including his partner before she was his friend and wife. But there was nothing he could do to change that. He could die though knowing that he had at least put his life straight and had tried to reach the end as a good male, a good police officer, tried his best to be a good husband.

Maybe he wouldn't die, and if he didn't. What then? Would he put the badge behind him and go down a different path? Convince his wife to run off with him, go somewhere that would accept their relationship for what it was? He knew what he'd probably do. More than likely he'd keep going on as he was now, if he was still fit for duty after he healed. He wouldn't try and get revenge, there just wasn't any point in doing so. It would be a waste of time and it would only show that he hadn't learned anything. That and officer's weren't allowed unless they were called to testify against their attacker, but that was as much as he would probably do. What he would do for certain was continue being an officer alongside his partner, try his best to make a difference and insure that he could at least keep the inhabitants of Zootopia safe, especially like the racists animal that had attacked him.

"Wilde…..WILDE!"

The officer's mind was snapped out of his thoughts and back into reality, groggily coming around as he looked at the familiar face of a certain cape buffalo, who was grasping his shoulder gently with a hoof, giving him a little shake. His mind slowly caught up to where he was, finding that he was now laying in a stretcher, clean gauze tightly bound around his torso, his uniform shirt removed along with his utility belt, straps keeping him secure underneath the thin, white cover.

"You..." the chief rubbed his face with a hoof, his serious features falling to a tired expression, his eyes fall of concern for one of his officers. Whatever insult he was about to leash out died, instead he patted the fox on the thigh. "You'll pull through, Wilde. Don't give the doctors too much grief," the buffalo grumbled before turning around, barking orders to the officers that had arrived on the scene with the ambulance.

The fox had tried to open his muzzle to say something witty, but no words came, just the sound of him panting raggedly like he had run for a couple hours on the Sahara course at the academy. For once he was speechless, not knowing what to say. Apologize, report, what could he say or do.

He looked away as he was distracted by the police and ambulance lights which were flashing and reflecting off the puddles, windows and the glossy paint jobs of the vehicles, effectively lighting up the entire area. Again without his knowledge they had gotten the stretched and him in the back of the ambulance. Once again he to talk but he couldn't, no words would form as his tongue felt like it was led. He wanted to tell his Chief to tell Judy what happened and that everything would be okay, but again nothing came from him except his breathing and regular groan of pain. The doors banged shut making him cringe before he could give one last attempt at trying to say something. Not that it would matter as the ambulance had started on its journey to the nearest hospital, traveling roughly at the same speeds it had when getting here. This was most likely for the best, seeing as they needed to get him to the hospital. Speaking of which, the paramedics in the back started working on him to keep him stable till they got him back into the city. The officer closed his eyes for the first time since he had been shot, not seeing any other reason but to try and get some rest.

"Hey, keep your eyes open pal," he blinked open his weary eyes, seeing that it was an old badger who was denying him the rest he was desperately seeking. A paramedic most likely, not seeing an officer's uniform.

The tod grunted and did as he was told, but it felt tempting to defy the other male, but that could have just been his instincts as a fox. Which was always trying to find animals to taunt for being so gullible on something or the other. Either that or it could have just been who he was besides his natural impulses, either one was a possibility at this instant as nothing was making that much sense anymore.

His thoughts started to become sluggish as they rushed to the hospital. No longer were they whizzing about with indiscriminate emotions, memories and so on. Even with his mind starting to slow, everything around him was blurry and appeared that someone had sped up time. The paramedic's face was a distorted array of shades and movement. He found it unsettling that everything outside of his perception was moving normally, but all he could perceive was distorted. Whereas his brain couldn't make heads or tails out of anything going on around him, it reminded him of the times he had gotten blasted with Finnick after a long day of their usual hustles.

Wilde started to fall into the realms of unconsciousness, nothing the badger said or did could persuade him now, the destination was set and couldn't be deterred. Everything around him as it were, started to fade into darkness his mind settling onto Judy…...his partner…..his friend…...his heart. Just her as a whole, not really a distinct image of her, but just all the emotions that he felt when he was with her, or away from her…...he tried to reach to her but couldn't, she wasn't there. She was home, all alone and sick, waiting for him to come home from work. Having no idea of what just happened, not knowing that he was possibly on his way out the door.

"J-Ju...Judith..." he breathed out weakly before his mind went blank, falling into the obscurities of his mind, which welcomed him with greedy open arms as it pulled him into the abyss.

* * *

 _ **HI: Well this chapter has been updated to. Yey! Another one, so many more to go, urrrhhhh. Hope you liked the additions and the corrections that were made. Not an easy chapter to work with, but I just didn't like how it flowed when I read through it, too much stuff forgotten, too many mistakes, too many bumps. Hope this smoothed things out, also you guys are enjoying the quotes. Also sorry to you guys that are new and are noticing the mistakes that still persist, I can't find them all, especially with how many words are in each chapter. Till next time.**_

 **HI: Still** **need to work on that….hmmm. Howdy, no too Wyoming. Well what do I do…..oh well, we'll think of something. So as promised the second chapter in the short span of four days. I hope this doesn't feel too rushed, I just couldn't stop typing once I sat down. Yes this got pretty dark, but I hoped you enjoyed this second chapter. Don't ask how this is going to match the summary, because I won't tell you, XD. I'm here for the ride like the rest of you but I have more inkling (I know it's inclination) on how this is going to go. Chapter three I'm planning to get between Thursday Night and Friday, Saturday at the least.**

 **This should have been done first but I like to babble. Thanks to everyone, all of you who have chosen to follow the story and me, and also too all of you who have favored (because I'm sure favorited isn't a word) and reviewed this. Also 1,000 views give or take since I last checked, thanks again everyone.**

 **I honestly thought this story wasn't going anywhere, I just wanted to post it because I didn't want this story to be forgotten on my computer. Thank you again and I mean it from my very heart, I couldn't ask for more. It's funny because my email has been rushing in with emails and notifications since the story was first posted and has only been slow today, so thanks all of you guys, you rock. Also please give thanks to Kaoru-Yuki, who reviewed with feedback. They were kind enough to point out some things from the movie I hadn't put into consideration nor just forgot, and thus I updated the first chapter to be more accurate. If you haven't seen it, Judy is 28 and Nick is 31 years old. This was what I was boringly going to do and I actually thought that I had, so again thanks Kaoru-Yuki for pointing this out.**

 **Also: Police codes:**

 **10-4: Message Received**

 **10-9: Repeat**

 **10-53: Man down**

 **10-71: Shooting**

 **10-4 B: Serious**

 **11-41: Ambulance Needed**

 **11-99: Officer Needs Help**


	3. Blinding White World

_**Chapter**_

 _ **III**_

 _ **Blinding White World**_

 _"Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlying our hard hearts. I was better after I had cried, than before-more sorry, more aware of my own ingratitude, more gentle." Charles Dickens_

 _"There is nothing to be ashamed about to let tears fall from your visage, on the contrary I believe it to be the best way to relieve oneself of built up emotions. My heart always feels as if a great weight has been lifted, my mind more aware of the world, my nature changed for the better. I'd rather let those around me witness this then let them see an emotionless statue." Reverend Archangel._

* * *

It was somewhere around twenty-three hundred, but time had no significance or any sort of importance for a certain officer. Judy was beginning to panic, Nick should have gotten back home roughly three hours ago, at the latest two hours if he was working overtime. But three hours without a message or even a phone call wasn't like him. He knew well enough that her imagination often ran wild if he was ten minutes late to a date, let alone showing up three hours late after work.

The rabbit spun on her hind-paws, looking at the microwave's clock, seeing it was coming up for twenty-three-thirty. Make it nearly four hours now, this was starting to play out like one of her worst nightmares. She paced back and forth a small number of times more, all before she slumped down with a heavy thump on the couch. Where she promptly leaned forward, resting her elbows on the top of her knees, holding her head in her paws.

Her breaths came out shakily, as her mauve eyes darted around the room, till the doe shook her head, taking fistfuls of her face-fur, pulling on it fretfully as her worry grew even deeper. Never in her life could she remember being in such emotional agony such as she was at this instant. Nothing to this point in her life had even come close to how hopeless she felt. It made her resignation from the ZPD seem rather inconsequential in the grand scheme of things.

 _If this is some kind of joke, I'm going to kill that fox. I'm going to hang him upside down by his bushy tail till he begs me to let him down!_ She thought impenitently, praying that it was just that, some stupid prank of his. The dark alternative was that he was hurt, or he had gone and done something incredibly stupid down at the station. Thinking about it just made her shiver, causing her to tighten her blue Hawaiian morning gown so it was hugging her even closer in it's warm hold. It had been a gift from Nick last Christmas, giving his green one a partner.

"He's fine, he's probably just filling out reports, or just running late…..very very late, and getting coffee….and there's a very long line" she tried again to reassure herself, but her brain's distressing thoughts pushed aside these comforting words. Subconsciously she had a good idea of what had happened, except she had pushed it to the furthest recesses of her mind, trying to be her normal optimistic self.

Her ears shot up as they heard something, pivoting about so as to focus in on where the sound was originating from. She heard someone coming from outside her apartment. Her miniature radars which could hear someone sneeze on the street outside, picked up on other sounds as well, such as the dangling of keys on a key-chain, then the sound of a lock clicking. It was regrettably from further down the corridor, furthermore she could hear that the animal possessed hooves from how heavy their steps were, more than enough verification that it wasn't her partner. Letting out a shaky breath that she had no recollection of holding, she sniffled, not from tears, but because of her blocked nose.

The sick lapin snatched a tissue and blew, making it twinge irritably in protest as it was already a dull crimson from practically rubbing it against a tree all day. Gods, if she wasn't sick she would have run down to the station to figure out what was going on. Driving there wasn't an option, seeing as her husband had taken the cruiser, which was currently there only means at transportation. However as she had been telling herself for the last two hours, which was when she had initially started to become anxious, everything was alright. It was undeniably her overreacting due to a change in the habitual day to day routine that her fox had her had fallen into.

"Get a hold of yourself, are you an officer or a dump, scared, useless, little bunny," she moaned scornfully to herself as she pinched the bridge of muzzle, shutting her eyes furiously. This had to stop, she was better than this...there was absolutely nothing to worry about. She let out a deep raspy breath topped off with a groan. Her head had been killing her ever since she woke up from a headache, that had stubbornly refused to shift. Only having been made worse with all the extra stress she had put on her shoulders.

Her phone abruptly vibrated, the screen lighting up as it notified her that she had gotten a notification. The rabbit sucked in a breath and bit her lower lip between her incisors, before she tentatively reached over to the other spot of the couch where she had placed it earlier. Hopefully it was a reply from her mate since she had sent him a number of messages through text and call earlier. She let out a breath with an annoyed growl, a harsh grinding from her teeth. It was nothing more than an update from Clawhauser on furbook. Not even bothering to see what it was about, she turned it off, placing it on the seat-cushion next to her, even though she would have welcomed the distraction.

A thought soon hit her however, making her to pick up once again, but only to look at the screen that had gone dark. It was so obvious that she was surprised she hadn't already done this. She should have done this hours ago. Yet she hadn't, having let her mind fall to the chaotic emotions and thoughts that panic often brought. If Nick was still at the station or on duty, all she had to do was call the station and check in to see if he was there. It was as simple as that, right? No, it wasn't, there were still implications. If this entire situation was just down to him working late, it would just make her feel stupid for worrying so much because of nothing.

In addition to this, not that it was common knowledge at their work place, but a number of their friends and closer associates knew that they lived together, and still did. This had gained them raised eyebrows when the more perceptive ones had noticed the wedding bands, more than likely it was due to them trying to figure out how their respected mates and them lived together. It wouldn't take a genius to figure out that Wilde and her were a lot closer than they really were. That they weren't married to other animals but each other. That everything at the office was just an act, regarding in covering up their relationship anyways. This was all simple paranoia fueled by an awful cold, which was muddling up her better judgment.

The rabbit debated whether she should or shouldn't call in, yet the decision was made for her when her phone vibrated a pawful of times, before a familiar ringtone started to play. She had picked 'Can't remember to forget you,' another one of Gazelle's songs for Clawhauser's ringtone. Any of the songs would have worked for him really, considering in mind he was a huge fan-boy of Zootopia's most popular pop artist. This one she felt just fit with him for some odd reason or another. For a moment she thought of just letting it ring but she thought better of it. It was more than probable that he would know where the fox was since he was the station's main receptionist and radio dispatcher, along with one of their closer friends from the force.

She pressed the pickup icon and greeted with a calm and stuffy voice, "Hey Clawhauser what's up?"

"Hey Judy…. not much, how's your day home sick going, poor little thing?" the cheetah asked in his usual cheerful tone, but something felt off with it, he usually didn't have pauses or stutters when he talked to someone, unless he was nervous. Small things like this she picked up on, they were small little habitual acts that showed that something was off with another animal. Rapid blinking when lying, a nervous arm rub, avoidance of eye contact, all of these were classic examples.

"I'm so bored, I'd rather be on meter maid duty then home sick," she coughed into her arm, the timing of it was prefect to emphasize that she wasn't well.

"Yeah, being sick is nasty," the officer agreed.

"So what's really going on Clawhauser?" she deadpanned, she'd asked about her husband after this was handled. "You normally don't call when I'm sick, or this late in the evening?"

"O…you see Judy we've got ourselves a little….itttty…..bittttyyy… situation of the sorts going on down here?" the cheetah said, his voice becoming distant as he more than likely looked over his shoulder, probably looking through the snacks on his desk. That was before the rabbit heard the familiar voice their chief yelling in the background. Even through the crackling, she could hear the anger in his tone, something had happened that evening to put him in such a horrible mood.

"What is it? Is something wrong?" the rabbit felt her earlier fears starting to re-emerge .

"Judy…..….please don't panic…well you can panic…don't be…..don't flip out or anything on me…..but, Nick….he's been…we-well he's bee-been shot," the predator finally stuttered out.

Mrs. Wilde did a double take on what she had just heard, her mind suddenly becoming blank, all her thoughts crashing to a slow. Her ears fell as she froze on the spot, all that she could hear around her was the thumping of her heart in her ears along with the soft static of the line.

Swallowing the lump that had formed in her throat, she was able to ask meekly, wanting to verify what she just heard. "Co…..could you repeat that?"

"Nick was shot, around….." there was a pause, Clawhauser more than likely looking at the time, "…..well sometime around six or seven this evening," Judy placed a paw over her mouth, trying to stifle a loud sob, tears already stinging her eyes as she fought to keep them back.

"Is he..." she couldn't stomach to get the word out. If he was, she didn't know what she would do. He just couldn't be.

"He's at the hospital," the other officer said quickly, seeing where his friend was going with this. "The chief got back quarter of an hour ago, doctors are saying that Nick's stable, at least for now. They got the bullet removed and we've sent it down to the labs," Clawhauser stopped explaining procedures, going back to telling the rabbit officer that her partner was alright. "He hasn't woken up since he got there, I'm sorry but I don't know any more than this."

"Thank you," she let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding. "Could you keep me updated with what you hear."

"You could go see him if you want, if he's awake he'd want to see you first," somehow this didn't sound quite right. Had Nick told the cheetah something without telling her.

"You know?" she asked suspiciously.

"Urmmmmm, yes," the cheetah said softly, confirming it. The information he knew was confidential. "I won't tell anyone, I promise."

"Thank you, again," she was going to have to ask him another time how he knew about them. "Anyways I can't, I've got a cold, it'll make him worse."

"O…..my gracious, you poor thing," he meant this, knowing that she must be feeling awful with her cold and her conflicting emotions. "I'll tell you when we find out he's awake, do you need someone to talk to?" the felidae tried to console the bunny.

"I don't know," was all the rabbit was able to get out as she felt tears rolling down her eyes, both in relief in knowing her husband was alive and in grief over hearing what happened to him.

"Hey, he's going to be just fine, it's Nick," the predator tried to soothe. "He's a lot tougher then he looks, he'll probably be up an about by next week."

"Yeah, that's Nick," she smiled, the uncomfortable lump in her throat returning with a vengeance, all the while she held back the waterworks, something she had gotten from her father was his emotional side.

"Before you ask, no one told me," this reassured her, and made her regret pinning it on her mate running his mouth. "I just see things that others don't around here, I'm happy for you two," he complimented, never having got to since they kept it secret and seemingly wanted to keep it that way.

"Ben, thanks for calling me…." she bit down on her free paw's knuckle so she didn't break down. "I…..could you tell me what's going on down at the station?" a distraction would be nice right about now.

"Sure," the big cat was leaning over his desk, resting his head on a paw, brushing his snacks to the side, not having felt like munching on anything all night. He was working later than usual because of the incident, but he didn't mind. "What do you want me to tell you?"

"What happened exactly?"

"The chief and the officers he gathered were looking through the footage and the recordings from your cruiser, last time I checked anyways," the cheetah explained, only knowing small details since the one ton buffalo just gave him snippets here and there when he stopped to check up on things.

"Did they find out what happened?" she had always been morbidly curious and intuitive with crimes. She didn't want any detail on the pain her husband had gone through or how much blood there was, she wouldn't be able to get a wink of sleep if she started to analyze this particular case. Also she didn't feel like her question was answered.

"They did, Nick was just doing his job after he pulled someone over for speeding, the suspect was being difficult then…..well just shot him," the receptionist just shook his head, tonight had taken for the worst. "We've haven't found him yet, but we got his plates, make of the vehicle and some information about him. We checked at the places he normally stays and haven't found him, we're just keeping our eyes out at the moment."

"How's everything at the station?" she asked, pulling on one of her tall ears.

"Everyone's running about the place, we haven't had an officer shot on active duty since…..well the incident two years ago," the bunny hummed as she recalled that afternoon at the ZPD. "Bogo's just stomping about, trying to figure out where the weapon may of come from. Ballistics are illegal in Zootopia, but they've been showing up more and more lately."

"We could ask Nick when he's up and feeling better. He's good at that sort of stuff," she thought aloud. Though he hadn't hung around with the violent criminal scene, he did though hear about it and who it's dealers were, merely from the time that he had worked for Mr. Big.

"I'll tell Bogo when I get the chance….." the cheetah let out a sigh, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "The media's going to kill us this time," he let out, already having his own thoughts on how this would play out.

"Why? Ohhhh…." she pieced it together. "It's either going to come out as Nick being the bad guy harassing the driver, or the driver just attacking a cop without cause, either way speciesm is going to get thrown into it," she summed up both of their suspicions.

"It doesn't help that you two are the faces of the ZPD and our precinct that much. We're going to have supporters and we're going to have those who believe that Nick started it because he's a fox. I'm hoping we can keep this quiet if we catch his assaulter."

"We can hope," she sniffled, wiping her nose with another tissue, but cringing once again from how sore it was.

"Well…" the cheetah put his phone down and picked up the receiver, confirming a call in from an officer. "...Alright Judy well I got to go, I'm still on duty. Take care, night," before the bunny could even say anything he hung up. She understood though, seeing as the station was on full alert and trying to figure things out.

Judy honestly didn't know what to do with herself. Could she go to sleep after finding out what had happened to her mate? Very much so, but the sleep wouldn't come easily for her. If she wasn't unwell she would have already gone down to the station to ask her boss which hospital her partner had been admitted to. As things currently were, she wasn't. But hopefully when she woke up tomorrow morning, she'd find that her cold had shifted enough so she could go see him, even if he wasn't awake yet.

The doe could only imagine what he was going through if he was conscious. No doubt he was in a lot of agony, even with the pain negating drugs that he had been put on. None of this really comforted her, they only brought more questions than answers. The one that was at the top of her list was what had happened to get him shot. He had sent a message that morning that he was monitoring people on the highway to make sure they were doing the speed limit.

If this was the case then why would someone shoot him? He had only been pulling over this animal was for speeding, that didn't deserve a bullet. None of the things they did to maintain the law did. If they were abusing it she agreed that they deserved to be reprimanded and fired, stripped of their authority, but to shoot one of them. They were just doing their job. Sure not everyone was overly fond of the cops, a good deal of the population hated the ZPD because of the mistakes that had been made by individual officers while on duty, but to attack them. It was like animals forgot they were still living, breathing beings with emotions, families, friends and loved ones, they were only doing their job.

None of this made that much sense at the moment, she was sick, tired and distraught. It wouldn't start making sense till she learned more about what had occurred, and if she could convince herself to look over the reports and recordings of the incident, if there were any. A report for an officer being assaulted would have to be looked over by the chief and the higher ranked officers underneath him. She wouldn't be able to get involved in this case, being too close to the victim, who to the station's knowledge, was just her friend. The best second thing would be to talk to her partner when she could see him, when he was awake that was.

Judy looked at the clock on her phone, seeing that it was approaching midnight. An hour had passed her by without her even knowing it. If she was feeling better tomorrow she would be heading into work, so she might as well get the sleep needed for it. After checking that the apartment door was bolted and locked, she headed to the bedroom. It was the place that she often shared with her mate, a place where she closed her eyes and felt safe and loved, where her husband would hold her in his svelte arms.

Using a finger to flick the off switch to the lights, the apartment was draped in darkness, tonight though it was absent a mischievous predator, who'd be using his night vision to play tricks on her. Having him jump out at her in the dark to scare her was something that she hated, considering that she couldn't see in the dark, yet it brought a sense of familiarity to her when he did. Her eyes became glossy as she thought about her mate and all that she had just learned, praying for what felt the hundredth time that night. This time, that he would be alright at the hospital and that this incident didn't lead to something more than it had been. Especially when the media eventually found out, because they'd always find out one way or another.

The rabbit was soon found curled up in the bed, pulling the blankets even closer to her small frame, shivering from the unusually cold room. It just showed how off it was to be sleeping without her mate, who'd often nights have his body curled around hers, holding her close to his chest, keeping her warm and feeling protected and loved as they slept. She closed her eyes tight, letting out a shaking sob, as what she had been told finally hit her when it finally settled in.

The officer pressed her face deeper into the pillows and pulled the blankets even closer. The emotional barrier she had set up begun to collapse, the tears now flowing without restraint. Sobs racking through her small frame, with each sharp gasp of air which was followed by her muffled cries. Every breath she found was painful, since the stone in her throat had become just that much more tighter, if that was even possible. The only comfort she could find was the lingering scent that her mate had left on the sheets and pillow covers. With her little red nose twitching in the way that it always did, she was able to use it to find his pillow, which she pulled over to herself. Claws digging into the fabric and making small impressions, she wrapped her arms around it, snuggling closer to his scent, letting it wash over her so it could trick her mind into thinking that he was there with her.

Nothing was at it should be that night, she was alone, her mate was alone, they were miles apart, and they were both hurting, it was more emotional with her while he was physically, that was when he woke up. The doe desperately clung onto the hope that her cold had at least lessened to a degree in the morning, just so she could give him a visit.

With her chest rising and falling in heavy, shallow, breaths, all of which parted from her irregularly, she lay there with her eyes fastened shut. The tears still managed to slip past as they fell heavily, slithering down the side of her face and dampening the pillow. Her soft sobs were the only sound that could be heard coming from their apartment, only broken by the miserable sounds of sniffling as her nose was still stuffed up. All she could do was wait for sleep to take her. It eventually did without her recollection, finding her sometime in the early morning, after hours of somewhat silent crying, surrounded by the soft fabric that was all coated with her husband's scent, doing little to soothe her grief, as he wasn't there to hold her, to reassure her that it would all be okay.

* * *

 _Sometime in the afternoon…_

Blinding, searing white light was the first thing to meet the officer's eyes as they opened, who snapped them closed just as quickly. Letting out a rough groan the fox cautiously opened them again, giving it another try, but found it barely tolerable. Yet he fought to keep them open, blinking rapidly as they filled with moisture.

It took a few minutes, but finally the clean, sterile, white hospital room greeted him, this being the second time in his life. Why he was exactly here was somewhat unclear to him, last thing he remembered was pulling an animal over on one of his rounds. He lifted a paw to his eyes and rubbed the remaining salty globules out of them as it was making everything he saw very fuzzy. Again, he had a feeling that something wasn't right. Questions such as, how had he gotten here, why was he alone when he awoke, why couldn't he hear any of the usual sounds from the city, why were his movements more sluggish than they normally were when he woke up, how come he couldn't feel all that much like he was numb with cold, and why were these fricking lights left on so god damn bright, rushed through his mind. He let out a growl, shaking his stiff neck as he closed his eyes once again, feeling like someone had splashed chlorine into them.

When he warily opened them again, the left one having started to twitch irritably, he discovered at least one of his questions had been answered. When he moved his arms, he noticed that there wasn't something quite right about them. Looking down at them he soon found out why. There were IVs and other assorted machine's wires fixed into him, making him grimace as he saw where they entered his body and now that his brain had been caught up to speed he could feel them, some of the wires and tubes going deeper than others.

If there had to be one thing that truly freaked him out, it would have to be having all this hospital equipment hooked up to him, it was unnatural and it made him uncomfortable, not knowing what was exactly being pumped in or out of him. Getting vaccines, shots or even having his blood drawn still required him being strapped into a chair, due to the reason that he still squirmed and freaked out when the medical staff did their jobs, it was usually how they dealt with children. Seeing how things were, the tod was taking deep steadying breaths so to calm himself down, these were all probably hooked up to him to keep his condition stable. As long as he didn't pull on them or disturb them all that much, he wouldn't even know they were there. This would be a little difficult with his paws, as there was one jammed right into the end of his right pointer finger. Tearing his eyes away from it he let out a moan of pain, pressing his forehead into his left paw.

Ohhhh god his brain, it was pounding angrily against his skull as though he had been out drinking all night with Finnick, or from a lot of...…blood loss. This train of thought helped jog his memories, finally getting a better idea why he had woken up here. The officer tried to sit up, but found it was increasingly difficult as his body felt heavier than usual. For one reason or another he found it amusing how pathetic his body was acting, gaining a chuckle or two from him. After a couple minutes of struggling had passed him by, he was able to get up, feeling lightheaded and very off centered with the world, but at least his blood was starting to circulate back through his system. His vision was spinning from the sudden change of arrangement, so he closed his eyes till the sensation passed.

The officer should have been laying back and taking it easy, especially as his mind started clearing up enough for him to remember how he had ended up here in this bed. But he wanted to make sure, to know that it hadn't been some kind of nightmare, that this wasn't all just some sort of weird dream. With his paws fingers making it more than a little difficult he was able to raise the johnny up. Though it had taken more effort than he would have liked, nevertheless he was able to get a good look at himself. What he found was that his torso had been bound with clean white bandages.

As a fox it had always been his nature to be overly curious, so he started to run his dark furred paw over his front. It took some time as his movements were slow and not all that precise, wanting to be overly sure that if what had happened wasn't a nightmare. If it wasn't, he was quite positive in knowing it would hurt when he found it. He did, causing him to wrench his paw away with a sharp gasp of pain, locating where the stitched up wound was. It was four centimeters above and seven centimeters away from, the center of his naval.

"Ohhhh, Nick, Nick, Slicker than slick Nick, what have we gotten ourselves into this time, tutututtutut!" he managed a small smirk, in a dry voice that resembled sandpaper, he was parched.

What mattered was that he was alive, but with somewhat trodden on spirits, considering as he was in his least favorite place in Zootopia. The predator sat up by using his left paw to push behind him, not feeling all that ready to lay back down just yet. With his free one he covered his eyes, and let out deep meditative breaths, feeling very off from his normal self. It was clear to him that he was under pain negating drugs, seeing as his wound wasn't hurting as much as it should have after surgery and being stitched up. In addition to that, his thoughts were as slow as a sloth was on a Monday morning. But it wasn't just this, he felt a bit ticked about the entire ordeal. Pelt, the word echoed in his mind clearly. Was that the real reason why he was shot, being a fox? Had nothing really changed in Zootopia? A place he had called home since he was a cub. He hoped that the teen had just been acting stupid, or was part of some sort of gang. If it wasn't…well he'd come to that at another date.

Wilde let his paw slip away from his face, smacking his dry muzzle with a tongue that frankly felt like lead. Not able to see a way of getting any water, he let his emeralds roam around the room for a few minutes, taking in all the little details here and there to distract himself. Might as well get acquainted with his new room for the next week or two. He peered out the window, his eyes widening in a little surprise, having only now realized he was in a room with a view of the city. He let out a sigh of relief seeing that it was in the Savannah district, meaning he wasn't too far from home or the ZPD.

With this reassurance the next item on his list was to find out how long he had been unconscious for, he needed to know. It couldn't have been a couple weeks or a month, the wound still felt fresh to him, and he wouldn't still be dressed in bandages either, so he must still be in the same week, or so he reasoned with himself, or the wound had been a lot worse than he had originally thought it to be.

Seeing as there wasn't a clock or anything that told time in the room he widened his search. Though it was difficult to do so because of everything he was plugged into, he looked behind him at the bedside tables and found his phone and sunglasses on the left one. It had his extension charger plugged into it, keeping the battery alive. That charger he had left at home, and also his glasses had been left in the cruiser. He reasoned that Judy had already been over to see him. When? Was the question though.

This would have to be answered later, as he was taking slow deliberate movements he got a hold of his phone and glasses. When he got a hold of the shades he slipped them on, and let out a pleasurable moan as his eyes finally got some relief. Red foxes were nocturnal by nature, as such there eyes were made to be more accustomed to the dark, the light of the day without them was for the most part, uncomfortable to say in the least. After the pain in his eyes had simmered down, he turned around and reached behind him again, so he could get a hold of his phone. When he had eventually got it, he turned it on, only to see that his notifications bar was full of messages, making him chuckle but at the same time groan as his abused stomach sent it's protest.

"September 25th, 1426…Juuudddyyyyy," he whined amusedly seeing that she had unlocked his phone and changed the clock, again. So it had been two days since he was assaulted, making it Thursday afternoon. He had lost almost two days being unconscious. He was going to have a lot of paperwork to fill out when he got back.

Nick thought about sending his mate a message but stopped, deciding he would look at the notifications first. He soon found that most of them were updates, but others were just from friends both in the force and the ones he had made outside of it. They were all generic in a way, all just hoping for him to get better soon. After half an hour he had gotten through them all and sent replies to everyone. It was more so he could get this out of the way before he sent a message to his wife. He had always saved talking to her last, so they weren't interrupted by anyone else.

Seeing as he wanted to reassure her he took a selfie with him sitting up against the pillows with the best charming smile he could muster. His fur was matted and sticking up in every which way, showing exactly what he looked like if he didn't groom himself daily. Though he had to admit, he did look roguishly handsome sporting his fur this way. Something his mate had confirmed one morning a couple years back, when he hadn't gotten the time to do tidy up when they had woken up later than they usually did, having no time as they had to rush to get into work on time. Smiling from thinking about this his thumbs danced over the screen as he typed:

 ** _Hey Carrots, woke up an hour ago, I think. Everything feels weird, being plugged into machines and all that like I'm in the matrix, that and the heavy dose of drugs that they got me on :( . Sorry about worrying you the last couple of days. I hope that you're not feeling guilty or anything, it wasn't your fault. So please stop beating yourself up like you usually do about these kind of things, Fluff-but. Feeling alright? Miss me? Well of course you do, where would you be without me? It's lonely without you here (L). Thanks for coming over and dropping off my charger and glasses. The lights are too bright for my eyes, so thanks for thinking about me. I hope to see you soon. Also do we need to talk, you changed my clock again. Again! XD. Well, you're more than likely on duty and policing animals about, lol. Love you Carrots. XXX_**

The fox wore a grin as he sent this, trying to imagine her reaction when she got his text. It might be a while till she replied seeing as she was on duty, so he laid back in bed, waiting for a nurse or a doctor to show up and check on him. They would probably want to make sure that his stitches were holding up, that and to make sure he wasn't under any threat of an infection and so on. If they cared to check up on a fox, but he gave them the benefit of the doubt.

It wasn't that he hated doctors but he definitely hated the big bills that one got from them afterwards. Nothings free in life, his mother's passed down words resounded in his ears. This though didn't excuse the fact that the animals they relied on to save their lives and take care of them charged some of the most expensive bills in society. He personally believed that it should be paid for by tax, having the government pay their salary so they didn't have to fork over a leg and an arm. It wasn't like that though, it wasn't free, nothing in life was, except air, but he wasn't going to give them anymore ideas.

Then there was that bullet he had gotten, free of charge. That had just took him standing there and basically freezing up. But he wasn't going to tell his mother that, he didn't like worrying his mother or being rude to her. Knowing his partner, she more than likely already told his mother that he was in the hospital, and would most likely be coming to see him when she found out he was awake. He could call her now, hopefully she wasn't working, or too busy. This though would be awkward, seeing as they didn't talk all that much. It wasn't to say they didn't get along, it was just that things had been different after he ran away from home when he was expelled from school.

The conflict between them had started years back, due to the reason that she wasn't overly proud or fond of what he had done with his life. Not only that but the way he made a living, if one could even call it that. This had led to them arguing and becoming distant, things had gotten better between them when he became a cop. Judy had surprised him by inviting her to his classes graduation. He hadn't known till she had walked up to him and capturing him in a hug as he got off the stage, greeting him with a wide smile and a back breaking hug.

The reynard might as well call her, just to tell her he was awake, and recovering. There was nothing to be nervous about, it was just his mother. Sucking it up he clicked call after he had scrolled through his contacts list, putting the phone close to his ear, listening to it dialing.

It wasn't long before he heard a familiar voice ask. "Nicholas, is that you?"

The fox was quiet for a few moments, not knowing what to say, hanging up sounded like a good idea. Deciding that he was being stupid he finally replied, breaking the tense quiet on the two lines.

"Hey mom, it's me," he wanted to hit himself with bedside lamp for sounding so childish, but he guessed that he would always be his mother's child.

"Nick! Oh god! I was so worried when Judy called me and told me what happened, and then the report on the news yesterday morning. Are you okay? Are the doctors treating you well?"

"I…I'm fine mom, just hurting, but I'll live. Doctors are treating me fine," which was half the truth, they had saved his hide, though he hadn't seen any around yet. So he could only speculate that they were doing their jobs professionally, in regards to him anyways.

"They're saying it was a hate crime. They caught the male who attacked you around midday today. Is it true what they're saying? D-did you start it? Nicholas what happened?"

"Mom!" he said a little more aggressively then he meant, but his mother stopped, waiting for him to talk, he took a breath seeing as his chest was feeling tight with repressed emotions.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you." he whimpered, ears lowering as he looked at his covered legs miserably. Why couldn't he be a better son, she was almost certainly worried sick about him, adding to that she must have been getting little to no sleep because of it.

"It's fine…" she let out a sigh and there was short pause. "I shouldn't have bombarded you with so many questions," she said thoughtfully, he was sure that she was pawing at the side of her head, something she did when nervous.

"No, it's alright. I just…I don't know, I'm not feeling well, but I shouldn't have snapped," he murmured.

"It's okay, I can understand," he heard her chuckle. "Do you know why you were attacked? The news is coming up with a number of reasons, but they're not reliable to listen to."

"I don't know why I was attacked, I just pulled this teen over who was speeding, he was acting weird and before I knew what was going on, he had had pulled a gun on me and had sped off. I…I didn't even know that I was shot at first," he sighed, things still unclear for him. He added with a soft voice, "I don't know if it was a hate crime… he did call me a pelt, but that doesn't mean anything, I get it a lot" his mother already knew how offensive it was to call an animal with fur that, due to what animals used to do in the past. These days it was generally thrown out at foxes.

"I should have known the news was just making a big deal out of nothing…..Not that you getting shot was nothing sweetie, I just mean….I'm sorry," she stammered over herself. She let out a groan before she added, "Why is it always so awkward when we talk?"

"I don't know Mom, things haven't been easy between us…well since before I ran away," he admitted. "Things are better though, right?" she hummed in agreement. "With what happened, it was just another day full of risks for a cop. I was just the unlucky one this time," silence filled the static gap between them for a few moments.

"Could…could I come over and see you?" his mother asked anxiously and he was sure she was scratching the back of her head fretfully again.

"Sure Mom….Judy may be here as well so you two can catch up too," he said, actually wanting to see his mother again.

It had been roughly a year since he had last seen her face to face. Both rarely saw one another because he was still full of shame with how he had run away from her, and she was filled with self-hatred and failure thinking it was her fault he had left. They both shared the blame, but it wasn't either of their faults, just circumstance and how society had finally driven him to accept the stereotype they wanted him to be.

"Won't your mate be there as well?" Nick practically wanted to hit himself with his phone now. He had completely forgotten that he had told her he had gotten married.

"She…she will," might as well tell his mother when she got here since Judy's parents were going to know this summer.

"It'll be good to see her," her voice taking a jovial tone, one that took him back to being little. "Well I have to go Nicholas, I'm still at work, take care of yourself," she said in her usual soft, kind voice.

"Bye mom, I love you," he felt the inside of his ears heat up, hoping that no one heard that.

"Bye dear, I'll call you the day I'm coming over. Love you too."

"Alright, see you then, bye," he waited till he heard her hang up before he did so himself.

Putting his phone down by his hip, he looked up at the ceiling letting out a tired sigh. This was going to possibly play out…..unpleasant would be the best word to describe it, he thought so anyways. If Judy agreed in letting his mother know first, then she was going to truly flip when she found out what animal he was married to.

It wasn't like it would be any worse than how he held prejudice and dislike for prey before he met Judy, who had changed his opinion to a degree. Now he just gave everyone equal leeway, let them show their true colors instead of just prejudging them because of their species. His mother though hated prey since what happened to him when he was eight years old with the entire Junior Ranger Scouts.

When he had gotten back home that night to his mother battered, bruised and crying his little heart out, she was in lesser words infuriated, it was even worse when she discovered that his arm had been broken. She had also been dismayed that he had to learn out how awful the rest of Zootopia treated their kind at such a young age, and so brutally as well. They had never called the cops, not believing that they would help them. That and some of the children's parents appeared to be vengeful types, and they were the only predators living on their street at the time.

Even now as he was sat here so many years later, he could so clearly remember her holding him close that night after they had gotten back from the hospital, his arm having to be put in a cast. Her warm fur pressing into his, her soothing feminine arms holding him close to her, reassuring him that he was safe, loved, that there was nothing to be scared of. She hadn't let him go that night, letting him sleep with her as he sniffled and whimpered from the pain. A far off memory that made him often times adopt a forlorn smile.

Either way with or without what happened to him when he was a cub, his mother hadn't ever approved of interspecies relationships. She had never told him the reason to why she thought like this. At best he could guess it was due to how things had ended with his father, or simply because it was rather abnormal. Nonetheless he was skeptical of how his mother would feel about it all, unless her views had changed. Though, all that he cared about was that she wasn't overly against it, if or when they gave her the shocking eye-opener. That and didn't try to convince him he could do better, honestly because how could he do better than Judy. In his opinion the rabbit officer was the best he had found, and he wasn't planning on letting her go, even if the world depended on it.

"Officer Wilde…how long have you been awake?" he was pulled from his mulling as someone had come to check on him.

"Urmmmmmm…I'd guess for an hour or two," he stifled a yawn, starting to feel drowsy.

The doctor walked more into the room, a somewhat attractive weasel who looked to be somewhere in her forties. That was if the patches of gray in her otherwise waning brown and black fur told him anything. "You should have notified us," she said shaking her head tetchily.

"I'm sorry, I honestly don't know how to," he explained, his ears lowering back with annoyance at being scolded. He wasn't feeling well enough already, did she have to try and make him feel guilty for being in the predicament.

"Of course you don…ohhh you're serious," the doctor said as she saw the look he was giving her. "Sorry, I…..it's been a long week for me," she apologized. "Well, how are we feeling, any abdominal pain, headaches, nausea, irritability?" she walked over to the machines, checking his readings, having picked up the notepad with all his information on it, skimming through the pages.

"Uhhhhh, no, my eyes are hurting but that's because of the lights," the fox replied, not seeing why they were on when it was daytime, especially with the curtains open.

"They should have been dimmed, clearly you're a red fox, you guys don't like the light that much do you." The doctor affirmed, her tone becoming friendlier as she dimmed the lights, then decided better and turned them off entirely.

"Thank you," he sighed, even more stress being lifted off his eyes. Now that was out of the way, he wanted to get some questions answered.

"You're welcome," the other mammal glanced up from his medical information, smiling at him warmly before returning her attention back to it.

"Such an attractive lady such as yourself must get this a lot, but how long am I here for doc?" he teased, seeing as she was playing nice he could be friendly as well.

"The flirting or the constant whining?"she shot back with a soft laugh, her hazelnut brown eyes glancing back up to him for a heartbeat, only for them to snap back down.

"Hmmmm, what do you think?"

"A lot of complaining, and the occasional flirty compliment from this floors janitor," the fur of her muzzle had darkened a shade, but she shook it off as she got them back onto topic. "Regarding your health Mr. Wilde, I'm recommending till next week, to give your wound some time to heal, that and so we can keep an eye on you. Just to make sure you're not suffering from lead poisoning, or any other complications."

"That doesn't sound too bad, as long as you're around," he noticed the wedding ring on her right paw, and she more than likely noticed the one on his left so it was harmless, he hoped. "Now, how about this little sucker," he waved at his lower torso.

"Nothing vital, you're a very lucky fox, if the bullet had been a few centimeters anywhere else from where it hit, we might not have been able to save you."

"And we couldn't have that, now could we. You wouldn't have anyone to brighten your day," he rested his head on the pillows. Though being unconscious for almost two days he was exhausted. His dry throat was starting to become irritable. "Is it possible that I could have some water Ms…?" it was always polite to make sure if one didn't know.

"I'm sorry but in regards to where you were shot, we can't give you anything to drink or eat. Well, until I get another doctors approval," Nick nodded his head, seeing that made sense, anything would at this moment with the medication he was on.

"I also have to go check on other patients, if you need anything just contact us by using that blue button on the bed control. I have to go call the ZPD as well, they wanted to know when you were awake, along with updates. I guess you would like me to forget about the flirty comments?"

"If you could, I don't think my boss would appreciate hearing about it," he chuckled. "Sorry if I offended you."

"No you didn't," she hooked the pad to the front of the bed and made her way to the door but stopped, placing a paw against the frame. "It's Mrs. Docston," the last thing he saw was the tail of her white doctors coat.

"A week, I'll never survive," he mumbled, not glad to have gotten that piece of bad news. On a smaller note, he had been honest in his flirting, thinking that she was attractive, but it meant nothing to him, his heart belonged to his wife, which there was no comparison to.

Needing a distraction he looked out the window again, seeing that he wasn't on one of the higher floors, which he was glad for. Meant less walking about to get out of the building when he would be dismissed. His attention momentarily focused onto the cars going back and forth in the streets, in addition to watching animals going on and about their days. It grew boring after a while, so he grabbed his phone to see if Judy had sent him a message back.

He saw a notification which he had gotten half an hour ago, opening it he found that she had given him a reply.

 ** _Hey Sweetheart. I'm fine and I'm more worried about you. Also we don't need to talk about that :P. But I do need to talk to you about a couple of things though. I'll see you after I get off. See you soon, and I hope you start feeling better. Love you Snugly Bug xxxxxxxxxxx_**

Nick didn't reply, instead he just sent a thumbs up to her so she knew he got the message, he didn't want to distract her from her work. That wasn't quite true, but he knew that she had more than likely been going under enough stress for the last couple of days, she didn't need the chief getting on her case about getting sidetracked. There was time tonight to talk to her, he could wait till then. The only question that remained, was what could he do to keep himself busy till then? Giving his phone's clock a glance he decided that he had time to get in a couple more hours of sleep. He wasn't feeling hungry or in the mood to talk to anyone else, just extremely out of it.

* * *

 _Three hours later…._

Judy had finally arrived to the room that Nick was staying at in the hospital. She would have been here an hour ago but the chief had asked to see her. It hadn't been about work as she had expected, but to just check up on her. To see if she was holding together with things as they were the last couple of days. Honestly, she had told him it had been rough, that it had been difficult to sleep some nights, that and she was just worried sick for her partner. The chief had told her if she needed a couple days off or a week at most he would allow it, but she had refused the offer.

Simply because it was easier to forget about what was going on when she was working. Not completely, as the emotions would keep sneaking back up on her, in addition to that, she would have refused to leave Nick's side till he was out of the hospital if given the chance. At this point, she wouldn't care if the public found out about their relationship; after nearly losing him, it simply didn't matter anymore to her. She was just over the moon with joy that he was alright, and showed good signs of recovery, which had surprised a lot of officers at the station. Surviving a gut wound was fifty-fifty, all of it depending on the path of the bullet.

Brushing off the day's events and the hectic situation down at the station she pulled one of the chairs over to her mate's bed. He was still asleep, but she would give him an hour before she went home. If he woke up she didn't know what she would do, most likely stay here the night to keep an eye on him and give him company. In all reality she would go home, and check on him the neck day before or after she had reported for duty.

The awake officer looked over her shoulder, seeing that she had closed the door and from looking around the room earlier, there weren't any cameras in the room. Sitting up on the chair, she leaned over enough so she could kiss her husband's cheek, only to pull away and stroke his muzzle, her finger's claws running through his soft fur and wire thin whiskers tenderly. He shifted a little in his sleep, but other than that, remained completely docile. The only difference in his change of character was a small smile that tugged at the corners of his lips.

To be quite frank, there was a lot she wanted to talk about with him. Firstly there was to catch up with him and see if he was alright, secondly to see when he would be allowed to be dismissed. Lastly, which could be arguably the most important of the three, were the papers she found in their cruiser. After the chief and some officers from the Zootopia Investigation Department (ZID for short)had gone through the evidence that the cruiser's recordings held, they allowed her to take it back. She had looked through the middle console, as she was looking for one of her Gazelle CDs later on that day, but she instead found the adoption requirement forms, which no one had luckily found, other than her.

This had caused her to break down in the car, seeing that he had been looking into adoption like they had planned. It was also since she had a feeling that he had been looking at them before he was shot, which just reminded her how truly close she had been to losing him. After she had calmed down, she had stowed them away inside their apartment where they were safer. Still, seeing them just made her realize just how everything they had planned together had nearly been snatched away. She could still have had children if he had…passed, but she probably wouldn't have done so. It was either with her mate, or no kits, she didn't want to raise a family without them having a father, not without Nick.

The lapin sat back in her chair, finding that it was a foot too high, since her paws were dangling. She kicked them back and forth as she watched her mate, only taking a break to look around the room, or to get up and explore it, though she had basically memorized all the details in it from her previous visits. There would have been the option to look outside at the city, seeing that it was rather breathtaking at night, but the blinds were shut. Not wanting to even attempt messing with to open them back up, she instead, went back to exploring and rememorizing the room, her eyes often glancing back over to her husband.

* * *

Later on as time was seemingly dragging on at a snail's pace, the rabbit officer was still pacing back and forth. That was until she heard the fox groan, beginning to stir. More than an hour had passed since she had arrived, having decided that she was going to wait for him to wake up. Even if that meant scaring the staff into letting her stay, by telling them that she was a cop, or whatever it took to stay. Hopefully they wouldn't ask question and just allow her to stay without making a fuss about it.

"What's my Sly Bunny up to?" the vulpine grumbled tiredly, his eyes blinking into focus. Seeing as she was the first thing he saw was a little surprising, but none the less it didn't stop him from smiling.

"Waiting for her Dumb Fox to wake up," she bounced over to the side of the bed, clambering up on the left side of it, before enveloping him in a tender embrace, being careful of his wound, and the wires. His left arm encircled her waist, his right he couldn't move all that much without pulling on his stomach muscles, as such he left it where it was.

"I've missed you," the fox purred into her ears which were laid back. He gave the top of her head an affectionate lick, not a care in the world if an animal walked in on them. Nothing else besides that moment, having his mate in his arms, holding her close to him as he was ecstatic to be with her again.

"I was so worried," she mumbled, but her voice was still thick with emotion. He gave her another long sensuous lick, getting a giggle out of. "Nick that's gross, your making my fur wet," she mumbled into his neck, where she had nestled her muzzle into, fighting back the tears as she became emotional for the thousandth time in two days, or so it felt.

"I know, but I wouldn't ever leave my honey-bunny behind," he murmured. "It's not gross, it's a love lick," he teased, tightening his left arm around her, while her arms were wrapped around his neck. The fox lavished another lick to her head, matting the fur down even further with his saliva, but she pressed her head into it, her small smile widening from the soothing sensation.

A few minutes of them just holding onto the other went by, neither of them wanting to let go, however Judy knew they had to, and voiced as such.

"We should…we…we should probably let go, Sweetie."

"No…..never again," he sounded serious, yet his hold on her started to lessen. This didn't stop his paw from roaming over her back one last time, this time he let it linger on her rump before finally he pulled away. Not before he let his devious digits trail up her fluffy tail, capturing it in a loving grasp, she smiled up at him shyly, with an evidently small blush.

"I hate you sometimes," she gave him a playful pout, as she sat next to him on the bed, as he just lay where he was. More than enough room for the two of them on it, as it was big enough to fit a wolf comfortably. That and there was the height differences to consider as well. With him standing at 1.2 meters while she was .85 meters. Her ears made up a good amount of her height, but they didn't count in the standard measurements of animals, or she would almost be 1.1.

"What, your tail just screams squeeze and love me," he smiled coyly at her.

"Nick." she warned, her muzzle becoming more noticeably red.

"Alright, I'll stop," he consented with a dejected look, before he smiled and pressed his purple nose against her pink one.

"I'm done now," he smiled, as she flicked his nose, shaking her head with amusement from his antics.

It was astonishing to see him acting this way. Just how he was shrugging off what happened to him. She couldn't feel any resentment, animosity, or even any dark emotion coming off from him, she had expected something more than his otherwise casual self. He was a tad off since he normally never gave up with trying to be affectionate toward her, that and his eyes were missing their usual twinkle in them. It could have been the medication, or there was something else underlying all of this, something she couldn't pick up on yet. For now, she put it at him simply being exhausted.

Mrs. Wilde didn't bring it up, seeing as it didn't matter at this exact instant. If there was something wrong, she was sure that he would tell her about it sooner or later. For now she was content to know he was doing alright, that he was seemingly stable. She had to admit that the numerous machines fitted into him did look uncomfortable, seeing as they went underneath his fur and flesh alike, creating small ridges and bulges. Besides this he looked relatively at ease with everything, if he was alright with things, then she was too, as long as he was being taken care of in a professional manner.

With things being the way they were, they continued to just enjoy one another's company, no words needed to be exchanged between them. Their paws were interwoven and resting in the doe's lap, both giving the other's a habitual squeeze. The fox who was usually talkative was being surprisingly quiet, not having said a word for some time. He just laid back with his eyes closed with an unperturbed expression. It could have been that he had fallen asleep, but this was shown to be wrong as he would turn his head to look at her every once often, offering her a smile before his attention returned back up to the ceiling, closing his eyes once again.

An hour must have passed them by like this because Judy finally let out a yawn, feeling worn out from all the stress these last two days had brought. In addition, the restless nights from having been sick along with being home all alone. As such, it was time for her to head back home for the night. Staying here wasn't an option since visitors could only stay so long because of the hospital rules. She tried to get up but found that the fox's paw had left her own, only to have wrapped around her waist again, trying to persuade her to stay. He had other plans for her sleeping arrangements tonight.

"Nick I can't, love" she said softly, wanting him to understand but not wanting to upset him either.

"You're too tired to drive home, and I sure as hell can't, so you're staying," the bedridden fox burred brusquely, not leaving any room for argument. He wasn't in the mood to debate this, and he didn't want her to get hurt because she fell asleep at the wheel.

"Y…you-you sure? I-it's against their regulations. And…they'd figure out that…..well we're close then just friends," she mumbled nervously.

"What they going to do, chuck you out?" he chuckled darkly. "If they want me to recover I need to relax, forcing my wife to leave isn't going to help," his paw rubbed up and down her back soothingly.

"I….okay…I'll stay."

The doe finally nodded in agreement, having started to loosen the belt to her utility belt to get it off. Once that was off, she started on her vest, stacking the gear on the chair that she had pulled up to the bed earlier. She let out a relieved sigh as it came off, at last she was able to eliminate the uncomfortable pressure; it's restricting tension was something she personally hated because how sore her breast would be by the end of the day. After that she undid the laces and straps to her paw coverings, placing them on the growing stack. This was soon followed by her uniform shirt and, after she was able to shimmy out of form fitting patrol-jeans, leaving her in her black boy shorts and sports bra.

After she made her pile of gear neat, she then crawled underneath the blanket with him. Where the doe promptly burrowed into his side, nuzzling into his neck with the side of her face, feeling content against his warm body.

"Nice of you to join me this evening, Fluff. Anyways, if they ask, just say you were feeling cold or something," he craned his neck, nibbling at the bases of her ears, taking small sniffs of her scent.

"Hmmm," the doe purred, which was similar to how she growled, but it was a happier sound. It was something that had surprised her husband when had heard it for the very first time, not having known that rabbit's could purr. Still nuzzling into his neck, as she tried to get comfortable, that and because she couldn't be bothered to give him a kiss, feeling too tired to move another muzzle beneath her neck.

The tod gave a wide toothy yawn as he tried to speak. "Also I…..doubt they'll believe that a fox and a rabbit are together," the other officer was almost asleep by now, but not quite. "Love you Judith, sweet dreams" he purred.

"Love you too Nicholas, sleep tight," she smiled with a soft purr, her ears perking a little as she heard him breathe her true name. Not too long after their farewells for the night and terms of endearment she fell asleep to the rhythmic rise and fall of her mate's breathing, both falling into a sense of contentment as they were reunited with their lover. The soft, soothing sound of his purring filled her ears, acting as a lullaby as it helped persuade her even further into the realms of sleep.

* * *

 _ **HI: It's me once again, just informing you guys that this chapter has been updated. Wow, three thousand more words or so of detail and missing content, heheh. Will try not to do that too often, just wanted this chapter to flow better and to add more dialogue. With regards to Nick flirting with the doctor, he naturally flirts with the opposite sex because he has a sly nature, but it in no way means he's being disloyal to Judy. It's something he does but he can usually keep a hold of himself and not do it, but as we all know he was on some heavy pain negating drugs to help him deal with the pain. Judy does know that he flirts, and isn't too worried about, knowing that Nick wouldn't do anything to hurt her. The two understand one another quite well and as such have a wide berth of trust. If it gets out of hand she talks to him about it, the same if she gets a little too cozy when males chat her up. Communication is key in a relationship, these two being no different. Hope you enjoyed this updated chapter, till next time Reverend Archangel.**_

 **HI: I know this is still lame, but unless you guys come up with something it's staying so, neh,:P. Anyways let's get to it. It's been two days since I updated, I hope this doesn't feel too rushed though, I really enjoyed doing this chapter because it revealed more about Nick and Judy's relationship and how truly close they are. I know it's a huge scale down from the previous chapter but don't worry we're not through yet, just one of probably many bumps in the road and many chapter's to come. As you may already have guessed I'm saving the next chapter with Nick's mother's visit to see him. That should go just swimmingly right. Right? You guys? Oh well, never mind, your loss. Also sorry if this chapter has mistakes, I honestly can't catch them all the first time, or second time. So as you may have seen with chapter one it was updated. I'll be working on II and this one while also working on chapter IV.**

 **Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Also thanks again everyone, all of you. This story has over 2500 plus views, over a hundred followers, 61 favorites and over twenty reviews. I can't thank any of you enough. Seeing the positive feedback and the suggestive criticisms has made this story my favorite to write. So thanks all of you guys, you all rock, So until chapter IV, or updates on II and III. Also here's a tip, if you're going back through to check for mistakes on a piece of work, read from the bottom up. It saves times and you catch more mistakes. In addition to that, I hope that I caught Clawhauser's character well enough. That's it, R.A. signing off, stay beautiful and true to yourselves, also keep frosty summer's nearly here Zootopians.**


	4. Family Affray

_**Chapter**_

 _ **IV**_

 _ **Family Affray**_

 _"There will always be excuses, arguments, and questions of timing when moving on difficult and controversial issues."_

 _Lara Giddings_

 _"The simple, inevitable row, is more often than not, due to a lack of action, where communication is concerned." Reverend Archangel_

* * *

Eight days had come and gone since that teen had nearly done Nick in; six of which he had been awake, after spending two of them in which his mind and thoughts had been absent, all thanks to drug imposed anesthesia. That, along with the stress and the entire ordeal itself had left him more worn out then a hand rag. Not that his failed attempt at dashing heroics had earned him exemption from the outside world. In fact these last six days had been jam-packed full of activity, helping his imprisonment to pass by seemingly in hours. All the same he had hoped that work at the station would be put on a momentary pause for him, at least till he was dismissed. However that idea had been swiftly swept beneath the cabinet, as he had been asked to give his account of what had transpired, both to his partner and the chief who had graced him with his presence, in no lesser words a very semi-awkward early morning visit.

The boar that had given a crack at trying to murder him, had thankfully been arrested last Thursday; as of now he was going through the due process of the law. From what he had heard from the news and from what his wife informed him, the kid had been booked, informed of his charges in his first appearance, and the preliminary hearing had already gone underway. The last he had heard, was that teen was waiting for the grand jury's indictment, which would be followed by him going through the arraignment. After that, if all went smoothly with the trial, the tod could simply lay back and forget that this had ever happened; he'd be back at the station while his attacked would be serving out his sentencing.

Even with these regular, reassuring updates, he honestly felt a little but miffed. This was mainly being due to how the chief along with the ZID (Zootopia's Investigation Department) had informed him that he would be attending this said trial. To say that the bedridden officer was squirming with uncontrollable bouts of joy and excitement would be an understatement. If nothing crawled up the wet-works, this case would undergo a federal court and trial, considering as it was an officer who had been attacked. The reynard wasn't all that thrilled about attending it, but he didn't really have a say in the matter. This would be because he had to re-account his side of events, all in the hopes of swaying the jury. Oh sure, this was going to go by splendidly, who in their right mind in Zootopia would agree to prosecuting another animal when the likes of him were involved. Yet, this was the job he had signed up for when he filled out Judy's partner form request. Like it or not this was one of his duties as an officer of the law, plus he was sort of the victim, so it could be considered to be his own personal case.

Not that there hadn't been any near consequential incidents, or anything that could have possibly caused a setback. No, everything to this date always worked out just right for this male. In all seriousness, in the inconsequential amount of time between the arrest and the booking, their had been a moment where everything appeared to be going down hill. Two days after the arrest they, meaning the chief and the ZID, had found out that this boar was a part of a sorta...maybe...little...kinda big crime organization. One they had figured out had a sincere rivalry with a particular arctic shrew's crime organization, one and only Mr. Big. Fortunately the thought to be set back had actually been just the opposite, though his partner had informed him that Bogo nearly had a conniption. Apparently The teen's _boss_ had contacted them with an untraceable call on the weekend of the shooting. The mammal stated that they would have no grudge if they lost the pig, as he was just a lose end that needed to be cut off. Also, seeing as they could potentially get tangled up with the police with this, _misunderstanding_. Though as the ZPD had shown in the past with circumstances such as these, they'd strike a deal, for the time being. Once this event had been dealt with, the rest of the organization would be dealt with when the opportunity occurred. Primarily, once more evidence had been gathered to bring them to justice, no matter how long they'd have to wait.

The reasons pertaining to why he had been shot in the first place still were unclear. Even after it had been revealed to him, and quite clearly explained to his face. According to what he had learned from his mate, who relayed what the chief told her, the boar's boss had wanted to hurt Mr. Big. Apparently by taking out one of his family members, blood or those who he deemed to be a part of his family. With some old information along with an odd and old rumor, Nick had been made a potential target, seeing as he was once very close to the shrew, or was to those who knew the shrew's relations and closer associates. Not that anyone besides Judy knew this, but his old boss had accepted him back into the family, after giving him a real wool carpet; the officer honestly had no desire of looking over his shoulder for the rest of his life. However, unknown to the crime lord though, he was also technically Fru Fru's child's godfather since he was Judy's husband. Him getting shot was no more than some ways, just an awry mistake, to an extent of course.

The punchline to all of this, was that they had found out this other crime lord, was a desert shrew, who was also Mr. Big's second removed cousin. It was obvious, but they had found that Nick had been the chosen target of the young boar, it wasn't just a random spur of the moment. The kid had been given the task to take care of this business, to redeem himself or something, since his last screw up in the organization had cost them dearly. Unfortunately for Mr. Wide he was a face of the ZPD, that and the only one from his species on the force, he couldn't exactly be mistaken for another fox when in uniform. In addition to that, he generally wore the same style of clothes when off duty, making him stand out like a deer in a pack of jackals. Nevertheless the kid had seen him drive through the Sahara District as he went to make his rounds on the border between the Rainforest and the latter. The conniving little dirt bag had then used this to his advantage, planning the time, and how to go about it…..but hadn't accounted for panicking after he shot him, that and also being an atrocious shot.

The entire incident was confusing, that in addition to it didn't make a whole lot of sense when one thought about the details, it seemingly didn't add up in the end. The only other piece of information they got out of the boar was that he only chose Nick since he held an animosity towards foxes. In his words, getting rid of one, he thought, would be doing Zootopia a favor. To say that this was all nonsense would have been easier, then to believe it, in the fox's opinion anyone asked him.

It would appear that the truth was more confusing and held more inconsistencies then the fabricated nonsense they often got. The fox reckoned so anyways, having witnessed this with a few other cases prior to…..he guessed he could call it _his case_. Personally, he was just relieved he wasn't the one preparing and gathering the evidence needed for this trial, also the officers who had to put all the pieces together. All he had to do was give his side of the facts and that was it, hopefully this trial was like many others and would pass by without any unnecessary delays or hiccups. The last thing he wanted if this pig got off the hook, was to be killed or hospitalized again from some petty act of revenge.

This entire business with the trial that was more than likely down the road, he put at the recesses of his mind to worry about at another time. There were more pressing, delicate matters that he had to focus on before he got there. The trial could be in a couple weeks or months, more than enough time to prepare for that. At the moment he just had to worry about being given his freedom back by the doctors to be dismissed. Unless they actually enjoyed his company and his constant sassing, if so he might have to stay around. It wasn't as bad as he made it to be, the staff were quite friendly, and he hadn't heard any of them throw out some specieist remark behind his back when he asked for help. One doctor in particular made his days easier and that was Mrs. Docston. The same weasel who he had been giving suave flattering remarks to since they had met. She often times told him to shut up or thanked him with a small evident blush staining her slender muzzle. His mate had caught him doing this one evening and after the weasel had left, she had given him a calm warning not to let it get out of hand. Nuzzling her little nose with his he promised he wouldn't and that had reassured her.

At this moment Nick drew his attention away from his phone, which he had been glued to for the last hour or two. He wasn't addicted to it like how so many animals accused him of being, that wasn't entirely true, but it wasn't like he couldn't live without it. The only reason he was on it so long some days was due to him having so many contacts, most of them being his actual friends. Never had he just accepted a random animal's friend request, or followed some-animal he didn't know. The only one's he didn't know for certain were his friend's friends, that was about as far as he would go in accepting requests.

Still, he tore his eye's away from the phone, the screen darkening as he turned it off. If his vision started becoming impaired he knew that his partner would never let him live it down. Already he could imagine her scolding him on being so careless, to be quite frank, how could he argue with her then, considering that she would be right. With this plan of preserving his eyesight, he spent a total of two maybe three hours at most on his phone a day. A big cut in what used to be his usual six to seven hours. What could he say, being a con-artist required a lot of contacts, along with having to keep a sharp schedule and to keep records on the money he made, who he owed it to, planning new schemes. It wasn't always just him and Finnick, he had other partners that he hustled with. Though with all the threats and banter and the swearing that was thrown around when they were together, they were rather close friends.

The fennec would deny this if an animal asked him, while he'd usually tease him of loving his daddy, or big brother, or whatever it was on that day, seeing as they changed the act around frequently. The two of them had pulled through so much together, the good...and the not so good times when they were at each others throats, often times a baseball bat was caught in the middle. Still, he was as good of a friend then any he had met before his mate, so much so that the little guy had shown up at the hospital three nights ago to see how he was doing. Judy and Finnick didn't get along a hundred percent of the time, but no one ever does. They'd talk and chat when the three of them were together, which was becoming rare these days, but it was a mutual agreement of tolerance. Things were getting better, now that his old friend had gone into another field of work, unfortunately it was the lowest, most awful thing any animal could become. A landlord. Yep that little angel of kindness and patience had become a landlord, which was good on him, it was a way to get by. From what he heard he had never had one of his tenants pay late, one had to wonder why though.

The tod shook these thoughts from his head with an amused grin. Sitting up, he decided to head over to the window, not for any particular reason. As he slowly padded over to the window he put his left arm forearm against the pane of glass, resting his weight onto his arm. He let out a soft sigh, fogging up the window a little with his warm, moist breath. For all the decent animals working here and the not so awful food, it was boring in the hospital, life seemingly stopped here, both for the unfortunate ones, and the ones who were left to recover. It was a dark thought, but one could only be in such a dull place for so long without the mind whispering them. The other patients were alright he guessed, most didn't spare him a second glance, seemingly in their own thoughts about something or the other, which he could understand. The only other thing he enjoyed was seeing some of the kids who had come in because they had hurt themselves in one way or another like kids do. Then there were few who came in for more breathtakingly depressing reasons, having found out with their family they had some disease or cancer. The fox had always had a soft spot for children, so he made it a routine to go down to the children's part of the hospital twice a day, to read to them, play or just to cheer them up if they were feeling down. The doctors thought it was a kind thing he was doing, even if he was ignoring their advice of taking it easy. Some of the parents would often watch him with scrutinizing glares; animals were protective of their young so he couldn't blame them being suspicious of a stranger, or it could have been simply because he was a fox.

The officer ran his free paw up his hip till he covered the spot where he had been shot, if one thing he was both looking forward to and nervous about it would be a shower, along with getting the stitches removed. They'd hold, he had been reassured of that. It was just when would he be able to live his life normally again without these restraints. Six to seven weeks according to both the doctors and the nurse he had asked. It wasn't like he was over-energetic like a certain bunny of his, but he hated sitting around all day doing nothing. Unless it was messing with Judy by watching her, doing work or anything really.

"Tomorrow's the last day…" he murmured as he let out a wearisome breath, once misting a little patch of the window.

His lens-hidden emerald eyes roamed the view-able streets of Savannah, having become well acquainted with them. For example the skyscraper directly across the road, whose windows appeared to be a dark purple during the late hours of the afternoon, and black at night, then to be a dim silver in the early morning. On the sidewalk in front of the tower there was a badger who came out during fourteen-hundred to play his violin, passing animals would either stop to listen to his music or walk by, most though would put in some kind of currency, most likely ones, or quarters, with the seldom generous twenty.

Then there was the police cruiser, whose he didn't know because he couldn't make out the plate or the number on the side from here. It was parked off to the side of the street, parked along with other cars, the officer's keeping an eye out for anything suspicious and to just assert a presence in the area. Not everything was catching lawbreakers and serving justice, sometimes their job was just as easy as showing up, their presence unnoticeabley enacting everyone to behave.

Watching this too soon bored him, seeing as he couldn't leave the hospital. Not being able to feel the sun's rays warming his red and creamy fur, the cool gentle breezes that would make his nose and whiskers twitch from the soothing touch. All because of this barrier which he had come to resent, seeing it as bars to the world he wanted so desperately to be in again. The only assurance was that it wouldn't last forever, just one more day less since he had started counting down last Thursday. Tomorrow evening or morning if the doctors changed their mind, he hoped they had.

His wound hadn't exactly healed yet, not even another week or so of taking it easy would see to that, another five or six and he would be better again. Even with it being his hoped-to-be-last day at the hospital he was not looking forward to that evening, seeing as his mother was coming to pay him a visit. Her supervisor had given her Wednesday evening off so she could see him. Not that there was anything wrong with his other coming to see him. What was troubling him was that he had told her that his mate was going to be here as well, along with Judy. To his mother's knowledge she was expecting to see another vixen, not a certain rabbit officer. Who had sent him a message not too long ago, asking him how he was doing, along with informing him that she'd be over soon.

The fox had found that his recovery time had been fairly active with work over the last four days. His mate was the only animal who had come to see him for the first two days after he had come around. The only others were just the ZID who came in twice to see what he knew and secondly to confirm what he had told them. All to insure he was telling the truth and because he had been on medication during the time. Then there was Bogo who had come to check on him one morning, a half hour of just the tod sassing his boss and the buffalo telling him to can it. The usual banter they shared, but the chief had expressed that he was glad that he was alright, and sincerely told him that he was relieved that they hadn't lost him. He had also stressed that he wanted him to take it easy till he recovered so he was placing him on paper-cut detail and other such non-strenuous duties. Then Clawhauser had come in, sneaking in some blueberry oatmeal bars and other assorted packaged goodies, which the fox had hid in one of the bedside table's draws. Then there was Finnick who had come to hang out.

This had all occurred days ago, and didn't matter as much as what was approaching. He took his phone out again, glancing at the clock seeing that it was coming up for...seventeen-hundred. It seemed that this little game would never end, seeing as he had changed it back last night. It seemed that Judy wasn't going to be beaten so easily, as he didn't know when she was exactly doing this. This was something he'd handle later on, not having been bothered to do it today. This was partially because he had only been allowed to get up onto his paws two nights ago, so he had been walking up and down the hospital corridors whenever, and as much as he could. Even if it was slowly, in addition to as long as he didn't put too much stress on his stomach muscles, as each step would stretch and pull on them.

As it was a quarter till seventeen-hundred, he decided that it would be safer if he stayed in the room and at least try and get comfortable back in the bed. Before his mother and his partner arrived anyways. Judy would be here earlier then she had been, all due to her persuading the chief to let her off early, promising it was just a onetime thing. He had agreed to her request begrudgingly, because it always started as just a onetime thing when other animals under his command asked. The buffalo had fired these officers, not wanting to ruin the 1st Precincts reputation in Zootopia. That in addition to it had been his life for the last decade or so, and he refused to have it come crashing down on him just because he kept slacking officers. Yet their rabbit officer was a strange case, she didn't ask for time off, she refused to stay home and recuperate when she was sick unless the chief ordered her to, she was one of the most focused officer in the field, she never fulled around while on duty, that and she knew the law inside and out; which she utilized to trick animals that she knew were doing wrong to slip up when they weren't complying. No one had to worry about her becoming a slacker, she loved her job and what she did, she was the damn best and honest cop they had, no one could deny that.

The vulpine checked his phone again, noticing that it was five minutes had passed the new hour by. His wife would be here sometime within this time, while his mother would also be here within that same time frame. It didn't leave him much time to come up with anything to say. He had a week to figure out how to bring this up to his mother without her blowing a fuse or losing her temper at him. In that time he hadn't come up with a single explanation or something he could say that would get her to understand, or to make it easier for her to accept what his mate and him were. Yet, even though there was plenty of obvious things he could express, there was nothing that he felt would work to convince her to come to terms with this news. All he could rely on was a lot of quick thinking on his hind-paws, a good deal of tact and no small amounts of charm.

His mind whipped him away from these thoughts as the door to the room unexpectedly opened, making his eyes widen behind his aviators, a feeling of dread pulling at the pit of his stomach. It was his partner. Nick let out a sigh of relief, shaking his head a little as she pulled the chair she had been using for the last week up to the side of his bed. After she had removed her vest and her utility belt setting them onto the bedside table, she sat down. The doe was sitting with her legs crossed, and was slightly bent over, looking him over with searching eyes, a small smile tugging at the corners of her muzzle. Her little nose ceaselessly twitching, something that he found was hypnotic to watch.

"Hey officer," the fox greeted with his usual lazy, grin, eyes partially shut, ears angling back slightly.

"Hey Nick," the rabbit returned his smile with her own..

"How was your day?" he wanted to know, missing being at work, and being with her.

"It was okay, Lance was assigned as my partner again," she said as she reflected on today and the past week. "He's a good kid, a good officer to work with, but I miss having you around."

"Well of course you do, I mean how can you not miss my charm and my handsome smiles. That and who normally helps you unwind after work….your paws must be killing you," he observed, seeing as she was rubbing them as she talked to him. They appeared stiff by how she slowly stretched her toes, with a grimace.

"They are," she grumbled, not having been able to truly relax since the incident.

"Well, I'll be able to help you with that, tomorrow at least," the tod said confidently, knowing that she liked him massaging the stress and pain out of her rear-paws. He had magical paws for that kind of thing.

"You could, always do it now," she tried to suggest.

"I would love to, but," he shot her down and smirked from the glare she gave, "my mother's going to be here soon. And I'm pretty sure playing paswise, and kneading another mammals paws is an intimate act, which is best left between mates," he knew she understood what he was getting at. It would be a lot harder for his mother to understand or listen to them if she caught him rubbing Judy's paws, she didn't know that the rabbit was his mate, yet.

"Yeah…..I didn't think about that," she admitted, the inside of ears copying what her cheeks had done earlier.

"It's fine, it's why I'm here," a soft chuckle escaped him. "You can't possibly figure out everything," he offered his paw, the silver band catching some of the light, making it gleam in the warm, filtered light of the sun which shined through the window. She took it, intertwining their fingers together before she gave it a squeeze.

"How you doing today?"

"I'm feeling much better than yesterday," he confessed. Seeing that yesterday he was feeling nauseous, however that was since his stomach had finally decided to revolt against the hospital food, having caused him to be sick.

"The stitches are starting to itch like something fierce though. No, I haven't been scratching them," he reassured, seeing that she was about to say something, she just grinned and nodded, her ears being more perky than they were last week.

"You Dumb Fox," she took her paw away from his, seeing that her mate's mother could show up anytime now. "I was just going to ask if you're sure you want to tell your mother about us."

"I'm sure. Your parents are going to get in on this mess soon, so why keep it from her?" the clawed digits of his right paw drummed against the bed, a nervous habit he had since childhood. It had been especially annoying for his classmates when they were often sat down in wooden or plastic covered desks.

"I-it won't….uummm, it won't be bad will it?"

"It'll be what it'll be, but I'm trying to be optimistic like you usually are, so please let's switch. You being pessimistic definitely doesn't feel right," he smirked as she pinched his left arm playfully.

"Shut up Wilde."

"Ahh, ahh, ahh. It's Officer Wilde to you," using what she had said to him a month ago.

"That memory of yours is going to get you in trouble one of these days," the doe shout back with a weak laugh.

"It would," he said thoughtfully before added, "But, you'd absolutely hate me when we start doing some undercover work, am I right," he gave her a suggestive grin. She slapped his muzzle, blushing furiously making him bark out in laughter, doing his best to ignore the pain from his gut.

"You're such a damn perv," the younger officer accused, hiding herself behind her ears which she had pulled over her face

"You know you love it," he teased, starting to feel like his old self again, the events of last week starting to become just a distant memory, for the time being.

"You're too much for a little rabbit like me," she mumbled, her eyes peeped through her fingers, seeing her mate giving her a look and a slight blush of his own. "THAT," she lowered her voice seeing that they were in a hospital, "that's not what I meant and you know it," she growled.

"You know I love you," he smirked, trying not to laugh at the tomato faced bunny.

"Yes, I do know that, but it doesn't mean I can't hate you," she mumbled, using a paw as a fan, trying to cool her face.

"You only hate me when I'm being lazy, being a slob, stealing your blueberries and when I distract you in our office," he shot back. "That…"

"Nick shut up, I hear someone," she hissed, becoming serious, the color from her cheeks disappearing entirely. The fox had seen her ears shoot up, tracing the sound as it got closer, his doing the same as they caught onto the sound.

The two officers waited, keeping their lips shut as a vixen with a black business dress walked into the room. She was a few centimeters taller then the other fox and possessed feminine curves. Her red fur was graying, a fox like most animal's who had fur, would start to fade into a lighter shade of their natural colors, with some areas becoming white or a glossy silver. The older woman looked at the two, and she clearly blinked from the way her eyebrows scrunched up behind her shades, hiding her soft blue eyes. She blinked once, then second time, then a third time before she focused on the other fox.

"Nicholas?" she asked, wanting to make sure she hadn't walked into the wrong room. She knew what her son looked like, especially with his emerald eyes, but she had mistaken another fox for him a few times in the past.

The tod placed a paw on his heart, giving a theatrical sigh before saying in a mellow-dramatic voice.

"I should feel insulted that my own mother can't even recognize her own son, what a cruel world we live in," he laid his head back, pressing the back of the same paw to hide his eyes.

"It's definitely you," the vixen sighed, her ears lowering as she shook her head. Sometimes time didn't change things, this being one of the moments she was glad it hadn't.

The younger fox watched his mother's head move ever so slightly, sings that she was scanning the room, having a good idea what she was searching for. When she didn't find what she was looking for she gave an unnoticeable shrug, one that only he could see because he was so accustomed to her behaviors. She didn't bring it up as he had thought she would, instead she took the chair that Judy had offered, who had taken another one, which was now pulled up to the other side of the bed. For one she felt like it would be for the best if she was over here, secondly she wanted to give them space, yet didn't want to leave her partner's side. Lastly, though she knew Mrs. Wilde to be a caring, loving, nurturing and all around friendly vixen, she didn't know how she'd react to this news, so this was mainly for safety.

"How was the drive over?" Nick asked, his tone soft, heartfelt. He was a mama's boy, he hadn't known his father who had shortly left after his mother told him she was pregnant, and had no siblings because his mother had never found anyone else. As such he had grown up with her being the only source of affection, support and everything else a mother provided to their young, that was till he ran away.

"It was fine," the vixen brushed out the wrinkles in the black business dress. She was a secretary of one of the judges in the city, there being two for each court, and there being three courts in every district. She had been one ever since he had turned thirteen, though he hadn't known till they met again when he was in his twenties.

"That's good, traffic wasn't too bad?" the tod made light conversation, not wanting to start her visit with the very late news; it was always best to inform ones parents when getting married, or had found a mate.

"It's becoming difficult to drive anywhere these days, I'm thinking about selling my car, train is starting to appear to be more practical. There's a lot more animals in Zootopia now then there were when I was growing up, and when you were born," she took his left paw, which he had offered, giving it an affectionate squeeze.

"So you keep reminding me."

"You enjoy teasing and fooling animals, I take comfort in reminding other animals of things," the vixen's tone was warm but wavered, signs that she had missed him. Nick nodded to that with a small smile, his eyes going to the window for a few moments.

"How's work as a secretary?" his mother was nearing her mid fifties now, having had him when she was in her twenties.

"It's okay….it pays the bills and I get to put away most of it," she let out a tired sigh, honestly not knowing what to do with the money she made. Vacations, traveling to see her siblings, that and giving it to charities. The tod knew that his mother wanted more than this though, wanted a mate but she was terribly shy about the entire dating aspect. From what she had told him, his father had found her hiding behind a newspaper when he approached her.

"Still no luck?" even as a cub he knew that she was lonely.

"I'm getting old Nicky, it's time I just start living again. It's too late for a man in my life," the tod had a small smirk which the vixen caught.

"What's so funny young man," she scolded.

"I'm not young, I'm in my thirties, for a male that's old. You're practically young," he tried to cheer her up.

"An old lady like me? You're definitely not feeling well are you."

Mrs. Wilde brushed her son's muzzle with her free paw, something that brought back memories for both of them. Of easier, more innocent times when he was just a cub, nights spent on the couch cuddled next to his mother as she read him a story, or quietly read one of her own books, stroking the fur between his ears and neck with only the love a mother had. Then the nights they would fall asleep there, both being too lazy to head off to their bedrooms.

"Mom, you're in your fifties, you're not that old. There's still time to find someone, there always is," he reassured.

"You're definitely old if you're giving me advice," she smiled remorsefully, seeing how old her son had become, having missed so much of his life. It had all worked out, he was a police officer now, which reminded her of when he was five, when he told her he thought it would be great to be a cop, helping and protecting animals, keeping society safe. She never imagined him being one, as there had never been one in Zootopia, but he had done it.

"I'm not old, I've just had a lot of life experience in my short time. Street, city, business and a lot of other smarts comes with it," he reassured.

His mother wasn't looking into his eyes anymore. Her face was angled to the side, looking away from him. They had removed their shades as the sun was setting on the horizon, a safer time for them to have them off. He sapphire eyes were avoiding his emeralds, ones that he had gotten from his father, or so she had told him when he was little. Something he had figured out at an early age that made his mother upset, reminding her that she had lost her mate, his father.

"How…..how you feeling," she said, her voice having grown tight for a second before she pushed on ahead. "Look at me, talking about myself when you're the one in the hospital bed," she admonished.

"I'm fine, it could have been a lot worse than it was," he reassured her, squeezing her paw with his own. "It hurts and stings here and there, but nothing major," he left out how when the medication wore off he was in agony, not being able to get back to sleep when the pain passed. He added, "It's my fault though, I decided to become an officer of the law, and this is one of the many risks."

The older woman was quiet for a few moments, leaving the tod to his thoughts. He knew that he was going to have to somehow steer them into how his partner and him were mates. Married ones at that. There was probably a good way how to bring it up that he hadn't thought of. That was easy though, the real cause for concern was trying to diffuse the situation after he had told her. Before he could dwell on it his mother begun to talk again.

"Nick, I know we've had our ups and downs here and there, ever since you ran away," the younger fox listened warily, not knowing what she was getting at. "I want you to know, that I...I am very proud of how far you've...co-come. Being the first fox officer in Zootopia, maybe eve...even the world, who knows. But I-I...I'm so proud of you, I'm proud of how you were able to pick yourself up and do something great wit-with your life, I just want you to know that, and that I love you so much," she had tears in her eyes which she wiped away as she sat back in the chair.

The other vulpine's eyes remained clear of any visible tears, the only change in his demeanor was that his eyes had widened a degree. His ears having laid back as they processed what they had just heard. It wasn't that he thought his mother thought he was a disgrace or a failure, but he had never expected to ever here her say that to him. He wouldn't have if he was her, he didn't deserve it. How could he? A con-artist, a racist, prejudice, prejudging fox like him, a fox who had become the stereotype because that's all society had seen. How could anyone be proud of an animal like him? They shouldn't be, he was just a classic example of a stereotypical fox, or had been before everything had changed.

His mother should really be thanking Judy, not offering him these sentiments. His partner was the one who had picked him up, brushed the dirt out of his fur and put him back on a good track. Without her encouragement and support he wouldn't have made it to where he was now. More than likely he would still be working with Finnick and his other con-artist associates, selling false products for higher prices, using any scheme or wild idea to get some cash. That or he would have run into Mr. Big one day and gotten himself killed. His partner once again saving his life with her good deeds and having saved the crime lords daughter, giving him time to square things up with the shrew.

The vixen's sentiment's didn't upset him, but just showed him how much he had really changed, how much this rabbit had influenced what he had done with his life. Something he could never repay her for because in his opinion he would never be able to, there just wasn't enough to be able to repay her with. She had been a literal catalyst in his life. One that he was immensely grateful for. He had a good stable job at the ZPD, a nice apartment, lastly and more importantly he was married to such an amazing animal, such a phenomenal doe, one he wouldn't trade even the world for.

Thinking of her, he took his eyes away from his mother, and looked over at his partner, who was listening to the two of them intently. Considering that her ears were somewhat directed towards them. Her attention though was on her phone. She was more than likely looking through the information she had put on there to put on her reports. Something she had started doing when she had seen him doing it, after she finally had enough of trying to recall certain details on their field work from anywhere to a week to a month ago. The rabbit's eyes looked up and locked onto his, she gave him a small smile before returning her attention back to her phone. The fox looked back at his mother who was watching him tenderly.

"Thanks mom….that means a lot," he said, feeling lightheaded, from the onrushing emotions and thoughts that were dashing about in his head. The vixen didn't reply, instead giving him a cheerful expression, one that he was going to have unfortunately break when he told her, in what she might consider to be awful news. He didn't have to bring it up, since his mother beat him to it.

"It's been almost an hour since I got here. Where's your mate, is she running late, is she not feeling well?" she asked curiously.

Judy had turned her phone off and put it back in her pocket, readying herself mentally for what was more than likely to happen. The tod turned his gaze back to his mate, looking her up and down, before his emerald hues locked onto her amethyst ones. She could see that they asked a question that didn't need to be asked aloud, but she gave a small nod of the head. They offered one another a nervous small smile, both desperately trying to provide the other with comfort, as they were both filled unease of telling another soul about their relationship, even if they were family.

Nick covered his mouth with a paw as he cleared his throat a couple of times. He then swallowed the irritating lump that had unknowingly formed, till finally he broke the overwrought silence in the room.

With a cool head he got out calmly, "I have something I…..that we need to chat to you about," he gestured to the rabbit with his left paw. The vixen dipped her head, but her eyes studied them suspiciously.

"Well, to but it simply, Judy and I are mate's. She's the one who I told you about last year," having brought her up when he last saw his mother. Shad had noticed his wedding band and had brought it up, asking who the lucky girl was. He had given details, but not species or name.

"What?" the older woman gasped, her head swimming with questions and an influx of emotions.

"We're mates," he clarified once again. "We've been married for a year and a half now," he added.

"Please tell me you're joking," she stuttered, her eyes darting between them before they lowered to the ground, with a small scowl forming.

"No...we-we're not," Nick said clearly, having sat up straight so he was no longer laying in the bed.

The silence had quickly swallowed up the room, time passing them all by at a snail's pace as none of them wanted to do or say anything, the tension having become unbearable enough as it was. Judy had become uncharacteristically quiet since the news had hit the air, her ears having laid back against her head fully, droopy and her nose twitching rapidly, signs that she was terrified. That and the rabbit officer honestly didn't know what she could say or do, what could they say to calm the vixen to get her to accept this. If she didn't approve of their union, then that was her choice, wasn't it? That's why there was such thing as having an opinion. If that was how she wanted to live her life, there wasn't anything they could say or do to sway her decision.

"Th...this must b-b-b-b...be difficult for you to hear…." the tod stuttered, which was very uncharacteristic of him. Judy's eyes shot over to him, seeing how defenseless and vulnerable he was at that moment, never before has she seen him act so...un-Nick like.

"Difficult? Raising a child as a single mother is difficult!" she spat out through clenched fangs, her eyes having become a blue fire of fury as she snapped at her only child. "Watching you coming home when you were a cub, in tears from being bullied was difficult! Seeing that other kids had broken your arm, and muzzled you was difficult! Letting you run away, seeing what you had become when you came back home one night was... FUCKING DIFFICULT! This…..this….." she struggled for a word to best fit what she thought after she had yelled, making the other red fox's fur flatten to his body, making him appear small and submissive,"…. this is perverted…abnormal, this is against what I raised you with, you two are...this is horrible" she sighed, holding her head in her paws, shaking it furiously, her hackles raised, displaying the impressive pearly-white fangs.

Seeing the predators sharp fangs made Judy shrink away, her fur clinging to her own body in fright. Even after being around her partner for three years, and numerous other predators both inside and outside of work, fangs still frightened her. They had evolved for one simple thing, to tear, to hurt, to maim, to help kill prey like her. Nick though was unfazed by this display more affected by her shouting and hers words. He did take his wife's paw in a reassuring squeeze, having seen her terrified expression out of the corner of his eyes.

"Why? Because you don't think Judy's good enough for me? That I'm no good for her? Is it because we shouldn't be allowed to be with the animal we love? Why is this wrong, how can what I feel for Judy be wrong!" the demanded, his chest rising and falling as he was conflicted with a number of emotions.

"It's nothing like that!" the vixen almost growled, wanting to get her point across, "Nick. Look at you two, a fox and a rabbit! You're fucking natural enemies…that and you're a predator, she's prey! I've always told you that animals are post to find mates within their own species, not from others. It's not natural, it's not post to be this way, it's worse knowing that you're..." her voice was wavering, she wanted to scream.

"Then what is it? Yeah so it's a little unnatural, I've seen a zebra and a lion together, it's weird. Yeah we don't always hold hands and get a long. I've tried pairing with vixens, I've told you! I don't care if we're different, I'm actually glad we're opposites!" the vulpine's voice had intensified. It was extremely rare for him to lose his calm demeanor but this talk couldn't be brushed off anymore. He had never agreed with his mother's views about this matter, but out of the respect and love he had for her he had never argued.

"It's god damn fucking wrong!" her voice having followed example of his, most likely everyone on this level had heard them by this point. "I thought that I raised you better than this, I thought that out of everything that I taught you, you would know that you shouldn't be with some-animal who isn't in your species!"

"I don't care about that! I never fucking cared about that mom!" his ears were laid back, his expression having fallen from resolve and frustration to sorrow. "You always ranted about how wron...wrong it was for animals...t-to...be wi...with the one's they loved if they were from another species, o-o-or were predator or prey. It's doesn't mat-ter, wh...why should it?"

"I know I can't change it, but you two both know that society doesn't like it. Once someone find's out you'll be outcasts for the rest of your lives. No one likes seeing it, no one wants' to see it. Is that what you two honestly want, do either of you honestly want to be seen like this?" his mother asked her voice calming a degree, but still filled with so much opposition, though it was steadily breaking as she saw how much she was hurting her son.

"We don't care, it's better than not being together. Even if it was illegal I wouldn't care, I would still be with Judy. I would be with her even if it meant that everyone looks down at us, because I know that at least we have each other. I...I...I can't kee...keep lettin-letting animals decide w...who...who I am, or what I ca...can or cannot do, " he mumbled, rubbing his free paw over his eyes, tears having escaped on their own accord, seeing the look in his mother's eyes. It felt like she hated him and that was something he couldn't honestly bear with. His mate tightened the hold she had on his paw, doing her hardest to reassure him that she was there, because it certainly wasn't going well anymore.

The vixen stood up with a frustrated growl, throwing her paws up in exasperation, but mainly it was guilt. Never had see seen her son look so beaten down, and she had been the one to do it. Not wanting to do any more damage, she walked over to the window, crossing her arms as she just glared out of it, thinking of what to say, or trying to process what she had just heard. The tod sat where he had been on the bed for the entire ordeal. Only now he was trying to get a grip on his emotions, trying to stop himself from crying. When he got himself under control, he ran his paw through the fur of his face letting out a miserable sigh, trying his best to not let the frustration or sorrow eat away at him again. This entire argument had surfaced old emotions from his past. All of them similar to how animals had made him become someone he wasn't particularly proud of, though none of it compared to what just transpired.

To hear his mother yelling = that Judy and his union was such a vile affront to society, had snapped and ultimately broken the strong mask he always put on so no one could get to him. Though the animals in his past had spat horrible things at him, he was eventually able to brush them off at the end of the day. His mother though, seeing her like this just...it just hurt. She sounded no better than everyone who had shot down his dreams, forced him into the stereotypical fox he had become. He felt disappointment, which was similar to how his mother had felt when she learned of where he had taken his life before he changed. It was more than just simple displeasure he was ashamed of this side of his mother. Heartbroken as well, as his mother was not supporting him, but once again shooting down his lifestyle. His hustling he could understand, but this was a part of him that he thought she'd understand.

"Nicholas," his mate whispered, pulling him out of his thoughts.

"Yes, Judith?" he asked softly, letting out a deep breath through his nose. He didn't want to accidently snap at her, or break down in front of her again.

"There's nothing yo...we can do," he raised an eyebrow at her questioningly. "We can't change her mind, it's her life and we can't always change another animal's opinion or views. Just because you wear ties with your Hawaiian shirt, doesn't mean that everyone else will accept it," she tried to get him to see what she meant, which he did. Some-animal at Gazelle's concert three years ago had taken his tie and thrown it into a trashcan, telling him he looked, in politer words, stupid in it. This reference made sense to him as he compared that scenario and the one they were in now.

"We win some," he looked at his mother who refused to even acknowledge them, even as he tried to catch her eyes with his own, her eyes avoiding his. This hurt more than he thought, causing a tear to follow where the others had. Swallowing through his tight throat, he said in a strained voice"...…that and I guess we have to lose some too," he conceded, the best he could do was try and smooth things out if he could. He slowly got out of the bed.

"Do you want me to come?" his mate leaned forward to come with him but he shook his head.

"Not this time, Fluff," he reassured, flashing her a weak smile, before walking the short distance between his mother and him.

"Mom?" he asked with a shy voice, as though he had been caught stealing from the cookie car, again. The vixen glanced over at him for a brief second before snapping her attention away from him, acting skittish as the gap between them lessened.

"Mom, please?" he pleaded softly, not wanting to shout anymore, no more hurtful words, he wanted to talk to his mother, not who had just snapped at him.

The only reply he got was her shaking her head, her eyes shutting tightly, her breast rising and falling heavily. She had always been a fiercely stubborn, independent vixen, not one to exactly apologize to other animals, or consent to their views of her, but she always acted shy and scared after she hurt someone she loved.

"Care to join me outside," he offered a paw which she gave a glance over before heading out of the room.

"We'll be back," he called over to his mate, before he slowly trailed after his mother.

The officer found her waiting a few meters down the corridor from his room, a little too far from the room for him at the moment, but could manage. Still, he grimaced as he made his way over to her, his stomach hurting from everything he had put it through today. The yelling and how he had pulled on the muscles a little too much with all his walking today, along with all the gesturing he had just done. Her gaze lifted from the floor, seeing that he was struggling and she walked over to him, stopping a few centimeters from him. Her soft, sky blue eyes looked into his rich, sea green ones, his having fallen back to their usual self, calm, teasing, collective, intelligent. Hers though were filled with concern, remorse, sorrow, disappointment and shards of anger. Seeing as she hadn't said a single word, he let out a weary sigh, rubbing his face once again.

"From the scene we just put on there...it's clear that you don't approve," he said softly,"but you're still my mother," he wanted to hug her, or for her to hug him, he wanted to know where they were at now. "I want you to know th-that I love you mom, nothing's going to change that." There was always the option of cutting ties with her, but he didn't want that. He was all she had, the only good thing his father had given her, something she confessed to him when one night when he had come home.

"Nicholas, I….I'm not sorry for what I said," she sniffled, her voice quiet, weak. "But I…..I hope you two are happy together," she said a little bitterly, but her eyes spoke that she was sincere.. "That…..and I love you too," before he could say something she had wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly.

"I know that this is hard for you, but she's the one for me," he sighed, wrapping his own arms around the vixen that had carried him for those difficult months, and given birth to him, he couldn't hate her. He could be cross, but it took a monster to hate their mother. "Please, I don't want to push away again," he sniffed.

"I don't want that either, I lost you for too long," she kissed his forehead, hugging him ever closer, but being careful because he was still healing. "It's going to take me some time, Nicky." she sighed, both of them pulling away.

"Th...this is goodbye, for now," he said what they both wanted to say, but he had the courage to do it.

"Yes, take care of yourself," she agreed, stroking the side of his muzzle with a paw, before taking steps back, leaving to go home.

"You too mom," after that she turned around and headed off, Nick did the same, heading back into the room, but he stole glances over his shoulder, wishing that things were back to normal. That would take time, much like his recovery.

* * *

The tod pulled himself back into the bed, a small grimace etched onto his muzzle. It was too tall and too big for a fox, making getting back in a painful chore. Judy watched him, knowing that he didn't want help with something as simple as this right now. He remained sitting up, knowing that if he lay back he'd starting falling asleep almost immediately, he was drained, both emotionally and mentally.

"That was just as bad as I thought it was going to be," he admitted, looking over to the doe who was watching him with searching eyes. "How you holding up, Honey-Bunny?"

"I'm alright," his mate hummed, a thoughtful expression written on her muzzle as she thought about what to say. She sighed as she came out with.

"I'm sorry,"

"There's nothing to be sorry for," he started hiding his vulnerable side again, not in the mood to even let his wife in right now. "I already knew how this was going to go down, but I let my optimism got the better of me. Every single time, am I right?" he sighed, rubbing his temples, feeling a headache coming.

"Doesn't it always?" she smirked, seeing that he wanted to change the topic which would be for the best right now.

"I got you…so no," a small charming grin tugged at the corners of his lips. Something that he was thankful for, was that his partner knew when it wasn't a good time to pry. Maybe tomorrow or the day after, right now he just wanted to put it behind him.

"Mind if I join you?" she asked but had already hopped up so she was sitting in front of him, slouched over a little.

"Well since you put it so kindly," one of his paws had caught a perky ear, stroking it fondly, "I guess you can stay," he leaned ever so slightly forward, nuzzling up and down her ear for a little while, before switching to the other one, getting her to purr. The fox had discovered with the years that they had been mates, that rabbits' ears weren't just sensitive in hearing, but they themselves were as well. It was an erogenous spot on them and his mate was no exception. Often times he paid attention to them when they were alone, knowing full well by this point in time that it was pleasurable for her.

"So what do you want to do tomorrow, do you want me to pick you up in the morning or after work?" she asked with a content sigh, her eyelids struggling to stay open as they gradually started to close.

"In the morning please, I could use the distraction," he honestly wanted to get out of the hospital as soon as possible, a day back at work sounded more welcoming than even another minute here.

"That eager to get back out there?" she raised an eyebrow with a smirk.

"It has its advantages," his paw had settled at the back of her head, persuading her to lean into him. The fox's lips met the doe's in a drawn out, affectionate kiss, which she returned, kissing him back as one of her paws brushed through the fur of his muzzle. His tongue was welcomed by hers as she allowed him to slip past her teeth, both caressing the other sensuously.

This didn't last all that long, as they soon broke apart, both letting out a content sigh, their eyes lost in the others for a short time before they pulled away though they didn't know why. More than likely a few animals having heard them earlier. He was surprised that a doctor or nurse hadn't come to intervene or at the very least ask them to stop shouting. It could have just been that they didn't' interrupt after hearing where the argument had gone, doctors were still animals and as such they still shared curiosity and the need to gossip. Or maybe the walls were a lot thicker then he though they were, it didn't really matter. They were being left alone, letting them have their peace.

"You were rather quiet," he mused, with his sly smile.

"I…..I froze," she confessed, her eyes avoiding him for a couple seconds before, "I've never seen you like that," her mate took one of her paws in one of his, his thumb running over her open palm before he brought it to his lips, giving it a loving kiss.

"I'm sorry you had to see that, I can be rather horrible when I get like that," his eyes were focused on hers, as though they were the only two living in their own little peace of haven.

"It's alright," she shuffled over so their legs were touching, getting the fox to look at her with amusement.

"Lonely?"

"A little, wish you could come home tonight."

"You know doctors, they're just trying to look out for us, that and they love money," she rolled her eyes, shaking her head as she looked at his tail, which was wagging behind him.

The rabbit left it at that, not knowing how she could add to that, or even if she wanted to. What she did know was that they still had things to discuss that she hadn't brought up between them last week. It had been busy for the last week, for both of them, also she had forgotten to bring up the adoption papers she had found in their cruiser. They were now in her underwear draw at their apartment, where they were hidden and safe.

Now wouldn't be an appropriate time considering what had previously occurred. That and she was pretty sure that her mate was leaving it as a surprise, for her. It would have made a great one at that, but now though she was starting to reconsider adoption. Not that she didn't want to, it was because of everything that her mother in law had said. Society still hadn't accepted animals of different species just being in a couple. Would the children they adopted be treated less because of who their parents were, because their parents were looked down upon by everyone. This fact alone made her want to go without having children with Nick, because she didn't want them to raise them in that kind of atmosphere.

Then again, they would be growing up in the same society anyways, even with mates of the same species. It was complicated, there were so many variables, what ifs, and so many unknowns for her to be able to decide. Though she knew that answer already. She wanted children with her mate, though they might grow up in a world which didn't accept their parent's life choices. However they would be brought up in a household where their parents encouraged them to be anything and be with who they wanted to be with no matter the species.

Judy looked up at her partner who was watching her contently, having pulled his attention away from his phone a few seconds ago. Judy opened her mouth to say something, anything but nothing came. The fox who could always pull a quip during even the most stressful of situations, just grinned at her.

"Not as easy as it looks, is it? Dumb Bunny," he tapped her twitching pink nose with a finger, seeing that she was trying to think of something to say.

"I just don't know what to talk about," she retaliated by flicking his nose, making him grunt and shake his head from the sensation it sent through the sensitive sensory organ.

"I can see that there is something," he stated as he flicked one of her ears, getting even, "What's on your mind?"

"Why did I find adoption requirement forms in the cruiser?"

"Well finally you brought it up," the officer chuckled. "You found them because I was a bit preoccupied screaming into the rain with a hole in my side," somehow he grinned about it, as though his near-death experience was a joke. "That and it was a decoy to hide my will, " he teased, bopping his stinging, purple nose against her pink one.

"Come on, Slick!" she groaned, wanting a straight answer. " When were you going to tell me?" she sat up onto her knees and persuaded him to lay on his back, with her cuddling into his left side. He let out a soft huff as he encircled her waist.

"Once I got confirmation that they'd let a predator such as myself adopt," he ran a paw up the entirety of her back. "I was going to give you the actual forms for your anniversary gift," he spoke softly. Her eyes shot up to his, with a small blush. "I know, I'm the worst," he purred.

"I…." her voice grew tight, her mate always knowing how to play with her emotions, always pulling at the right heartstrings. "Nick, you're too good to me," she burred, burying her face into his side.

"Nah, I'm doing this all for my own amusement, Darling," he chortled before he gave a kiss to the top of her head tenderly. "Anything for you, Carrots," he breathed, as he stroked the back of her head, his claws delicately scratching at the hidden flesh.

She muffled something into him, a ticklish sensation and an odd one at that. "What was that? You're mouths full of….well me."

Pulling away she repeated herself looking incredibly cheerful, "I love you so much, Nicholas. I don't think I've ever met a guy as nice as you," she hugged him as best she could, seeing as he was still healing.

"That's good," he mused, feeling his ego being satisfied by his partner's praise. "I'm just a very nice fox, especially to his, Honey-Bunny," he tightened his hold on her, getting no complaint from her as she tightened her hold around him.

The tod looked up at the ceiling as he held tightly onto his mate, enjoying how close she was. It wasn't as good as what they could do in the safety and comfort of their apartment but he would take whatever he could get. A thought sprang to mind, and he couldn't help but let out a snicker.

"Also you hate it when I make a mess," he hadn't been able to finish his list. Judy was laughing into his side, finding it just as amusing as him. However her cheeks had turned a deep shade of crimson again. She knew what he meant, he looked back up at the ceiling, with a sinful grin. How he loved teasing and flirting with her, it never got old.

"Keep talking like that, and I'll definitely get you home tonight," the rabbit propped herself up before giving him a kiss on the lips.

"Sly Bunny," he mumbled as he kissed her back.

"Nick there's someone coming," her ears standing up like they had earlier, as she pulled away from him.

"There's always someone interrupting," he muttered, nevertheless letting her go. She hurriedly scooted away from him and sat back at the end of the bed like earlier.

A few minutes passed by yet no one walked into the room like they had expected. The fox looked at his partner with an eyebrow raised. She tried to say something but he shushed her, wanting to wait this out, though they both knew that no one was going to show up. He just wanted to get on her nerves a little. They waited another couple of minutes, the predator drumming his fingers on the bed, with a mock expectant expression. When it was obvious that no one was coming he finally broke the silence.

"You need to get your ears checked," he mused, knowing that insulting his mate's hearing often wound her up, he did it to tease but she would sometimes take it seriously. Tonight she simply brushed it off, not feeling like bantering with him at the moment.

"I did hear someone," she grumbled, crawling back up the bed so she could cuddle with him. The reynard welcomed her with his left arm, his eyes following her every movement as she settled back where she had been minutes earlier.

"Sure, you did Carrots," he teased, nuzzling her muzzle with his own. "Probably went to see another patient," she just huffed, rustling his red fur and creamy fur. He stroked from the top of his mate's head to the tips of her ears, which were laid back. "You staying tonight?"

"No, I'll be heading out in an hour or so," she yawned tiredly her mate easily hearing it, he grinned seeing that he had gained a bed mate for the night.

"Mmmmhmmm, whatever you say officer," the predator pulled her closer as she begun to fall asleep, he wasn't tired yet, having slept in late today, unlike her. But one had to consider that she woke up at five every morning, the weekends being the exception. He glanced down at her, seeing that she had fallen sound asleep for the night, having had enough for one day.

"Ohhhh...you bunnies," he murmured, "full of so much energy, only to fall asleep so early," he gave the top of her muzzle a kiss. She shifted a little in her sleep, he couldn't say he had seen anything more adorable than seeing her asleep.

Nick laid his head back against the pillows, keeping his arm snuggly around his bunny's waist. His eyes closed, resting them for a bit, given that it had been a long day for him. Not as exciting or full of work as his mate's had been, just an emotional day since the quarrel with his mother. Hopefully he could put it behind him for a couple days till he was ready to talk about it with his partner. Something he loved about her was that she knew when to give him space, knowing that when he was overly vulnerable it was best to give him a few hours or days before approaching him. He just didn't feel comfortable with exposing his heart around animals, the rabbit in his arms was the only exception.

At best he would talk to her about it tomorrow or the day after, amongst other things in depth. Them adopting would certainly be brought up again, seeing as they were both excited about becoming parents. A family mixed with rabbits and foxes would be exciting, first off they would need to get a big enough house, which would hopefully be in the next year or so.

Their current apartment wouldn't be big enough for the number they wanted. Four being the minimal while eight was the most. They had to settle seeing as Judy had come from a family over two hundred siblings, while he had come from a family of just him and his mother. His wife had originally wanted a dozen, which wasn't too outlandish, but was a bit big for the tod. They had agreed on that number finally, after long hours of them talking about it to great length. First they needed a house, not a four room apartment, it could work but it would feel crowded for everyone. They just needed some more time so they could afford a house, and be able to provide for their future family.

"You're going to be a great mother," he pulled her closer, all the while keeping his eyes closed. "Everything will work out, I promise."

* * *

 ** _HI: Updated chapter IV...hope you enjoyed it as much as I did combing through it for the mistakes and other such things of that sort, lol. Anyways, I couldn't find a quote that fit this chapter by more highly regarded human beings, I apologize if you don't like it, I cam up with it on the spot. If there's one out there that you feel will fit more appropriately, please send me a PM or have it attached to a Review. This was a fun chapter to rewrite, started at three, it's now one in the morning here, yeah that long folks, lol. My eyes hurt...urrrrhhhh, it's burns XD. Well, hope you enjoy the update, hopefully it flows better. Night to all of you fine folk._**

 **HI: Yes, it's a lame disclaimer, yes I understand that I can say something more creative. Why am I still using it then…..well it fits, and it's friendly. Now back into what these are used for, my thanks to all of you and me talking to you. Well that was an interesting chapter to write, difficult trying to capture Nick's mother the way I did, tell me what you guys all think. That and to tell you stuff that isn't in the chapter, mentioned but not elaborated. Well for those of you who have been reading carefully, It's September currently, and Judy and Nick have been married for a year and a half, putting their marriage in February, ahh, the romantic month, I hadn't meant to do that. It's purely coincidence. Secondly, sorry for another soft ending for the chapter, I promise they won't all be like this. Next stop, well, you'll see, it's a drama so I don't want to spoil it. In addition, heart breaking to have a parent or guardian tell you that they're proud of you only for the two of you to get into a nasty row, Nick can't seem to win in these last two weeks.**

 **Also I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I wrote it. I know that everyone might be used to me getting these out every two or three days, but classes are coming back up tomorrow, spring break is over for me, so I won't have a whole lot of free time. I promise I will try to see if I can get these out as I have lately, what lunch is for, XD. Anyways, other chapter including this one will be updated when I get to them, most likely on weekends now, seeing as I'll have more time. So expect a new chapter Tuesday or Wednesday night, Thursday at the latest.**

 **Before I sign off of fan fiction, and for bed, I just want to thank every single one of you. As I've said twice now, I never expected this story to do so well. I know this must becoming repetitive, but thanks everyone, thank you all so much for viewing, reviewing, following and for those of you who have favored it. This story has reached 5000+ views, over 40 reviews, 93 favorites, has 149 followers, from the bottom of my heart, I sincerely thank all of you for enjoying my work. Till next time this is R.A., signing off, good night to all of you.**


	5. Desensitizing Fear

_**Chapter**_

 _ **V**_

 _ **Desensitizing Fear**_

 _"If you are pained by external things, it is not they that disturb you, but your own judgement of them. And it is in your power to wipe out that judgement now." Marcus Aurelius_

 _"Fear keeps us focused on the past or worried about the future. If we can acknowledge our fear, we can realize that right now we are okay. Right now, today, we are still alive, and our bodies are working marvelously. Our eyes can still see the beautiful sky. Our ears can still hear the voices of our loved ones." Thich Nhat Hanh_

 _"Fear is only that of the irrational emotions that we let lurk in the furthest reaches of our mind, spawned by nothing more than that of the unknown, or that which has left an ever-reminding scar." Reverend Archangel_

* * *

Six weeks whirred by in seemingly no time at all, the incident that had almost killed the ZPDs only fox officer having been put behind everyone. Although it was brought up on a regular basis when the seemingly unending supply of gossip was running low. Not because anyone thought that it was particularly interesting or in anyways amusing, but more along the lines that it was something that brought up questions along with a torrent of differing opinions. The most common out of all of them to be heard was, could it have happened to any of them? That is without all the the strange conditions that had lead to Officer Wilde's horrific incident, but being shot for the reason they were cops, because of their species, the way they looked at someanimal, or even for no reason at all.

It was common knowledge to just about everyone at the department that Nick was looked down upon by society because he was a fox, one that had been the true epitome that society had painted for his kind. There were even a pawful of their own who held him down to their prejudice views because of what he was; but they respectfully kept it to themselves while at the office, or when he was within earshot. These matters were best left behind one's own doors, since they all relied on one another while on duty, and secondly it wouldn't prove amount to anything for anyone. Last situation anyone wanted was a fellow officer refusing to help another because of some unsavory comment made about them. The fox officer had proven that he could brush off malicious insults about him, seeing that their words didn't honestly affect him at the end of the day. What truly kept his work-associates off his back was due to him being serious about his job, even the officers who weren't particularly fond of him held an air of respect for his attitude and the way he would approach his duties; lastly there was the little fact that he was a certain rabbit officer's partner, and just about every animal at the station was afraid of her, having seen what she could do Officer McHorn in the sparring ring.

The predator himself, had only hoped for his incident to fade from everyone's mind, letting it be left behind them all, it happened, he was shot, end of the story. Personally, it wasn't anything to really get riled up about like the media was depicting it to be, or that's what his two cents on it were, who better than the victims thoughts. He saw it as him being just another officer who had faced certain peril in the line of duty, basically taking one for the team in lesser words. Nothing he had done that night had been heroic, nothing showed that it had been all that tragic either. This was an understatement since a lot of animals that he knew had been pretty distraught over learning about his near-death experience. Simply he deduced it as him being a casualty, that didn't deserve merit or recognition, though he had gotten it in the shape of a medal from Chief Bogo himself; The Law Enforcement Purple Heart, another medal to add to his small collection. Truly, if it was to be anything, it was a lesson, it showed how important a vest was, since he hadn't been wearing his when he had been shot. It could be argued that his assailant would have shot him in the head if he had been wearing his vest and he wholeheartedly agreed, but then again shots to the head were rare. Mainly because the chest was such a larger target, also due to the fact that ballistic firearms were illegal in Zootopia, but that didn't mean they weren't around. No, they were constantly being smuggled in, but trying to find and shut down these under the table dealings was, easier said than done.

With all this aside, Judy had noted, that this did little to hinder her partner feeling smug when he heard his name brought up in the side-conversations between his fellow officers, or even in the many media publishing's, be it on online sites or in the printed paper. As she had gained a reputation for being the indomitable rabbit officer, Nick had gained a reputation for being a tough nut around the department, seeing as he was back in the office only a week after he had been shot, much to a certain cape buffalo's disapproval. But it wasn't as bad as some had dreaded it to be, there wasn't all that much whining but there was a newfound level of cynicisms coming from him, but above all though, he brooded more, often falling into long periods of silence as he thought. To say that it was a welcomed site was quite infact the opposite, often gaining a lot of unease and worried looks from his friends, even Bogo had expressed his concern to her. Unfortunately, it was to be expected, the doctors had warned them that he may have more than just physical scarring from the traumatic event. But none of that matter to the doe, he was still her partner, the same fox that she had fallen in love with and married, they'd get through whatever came together, with her supporting him by his side all the way, though her optimism was still a bit awry, as she was still recovering from nearly losing him.

To tell the truth she didn't honestly know how he made it through these last couple of weeks. His wound had been unwaveringly persistent to give him as much grief as possible as he continued to perform his duties. Though they were all based in the station, since he couldn't go back into the field till he was completely healed. Sometime by the eighth week would be when he was allowed to perform more strenuous duties, just to insure that he didn't tear his stitches or reopen his wound by accident. But he joked with the chief and other officers that he'd simply have to keep a stapler handy if that was the case, though anyone who knew him well enough saw that he was relieved to be still working at the station. As she had learned from previous times she had been hurt, the mind would soon become irritable and depressed when it was idle for too long, preferrably it was best to have something to focus on when recovering, better than lying about all day doing nothing.

As it were, she was in the office she shared with her partner, both being dispersed to fill out reports for the day. The fox was busily typing away on his laptop, not exactly his but more along the lines of it being leant to him, along with hers. It wasn't anything special, one day they weren't in the office, then the next they showed up with a sticky note slipped on them, which basically had, here you go, don't mess it up and have fun filling out the reports. It was easily something that all the new recruits, including herself found disheartening, since filling out reports had to be one of the most excruciatingly boring duties they had to perform. Her attention was brought away from the report she was glancing over, when her partner looked from his own screen to look over the information the officers had jotted down on their field notes. It was a job they both detested but Nick was very proficient at it and could crank out at average, eight every hour if he wasn't interrupted or had to find another officer to clarify what the indecipherable handwriting meant.

Not that anyone's penmanship was illegible at the station, one thing an officer needed was good penmanship. It was just on occasions the fox had difficulty being able to read another animal's report after so many hours of looking at so many others, it would become all too muddled, appearing to be just gibberish as his eyes started to deceive him. Most of the time he would have her read them to him as he typed when it got to this point, and vice versa. That was if they were both in the office that day, or they would rely on Clawhauser who was always happy to lend a paw, basically because he was a gossip bug along with being a big chatty catty; being at a desk all day definitely wasn't cut out for everyone but he somehow made the best of it.

The first officers of their species were presently in a comfortable silence in the office they had shared for the last three years, the only noise was the occasional scratching that their pens made on paper. That in addition to the steady clicking of the keyboards as they transferred information from what had been jotted down on notes to the department's database. This was their usual work demeanor when swamped down with this type of chore, or just when the other didn't want to talk. It wasn't uncomfortable, more of a mutual agreement between the two of them when they needed their space and concentration, though it didn't really take that much effort, they wanted it out of the way sooner rather than later.

Wilde pushed his knuckles against the wood desk till he got them to crack loudly with a satisfied growl from getting the stiffness out of them. This didn't distract the other officer, who simply didn't pay it any mind, nevertheless the long pair of black tipped gray ears perked themselves up a fraction, before falling back to being floppy and lifeless. It wasn't irritating to her since she did it as well when her fingers got like that, along with getting the same sense of relief as her partner did from it. Besides, being partner's for three years, they had grown used to the other's habits, annoying ones that made them grind their respective pearly whites as well.

"Better?" she asked, making small talk, wanting to say something to her husband.

"Very, Hopps" he murmured, not wanting to distract or annoy other officers who were next to their cubicle office. One thing that was annoying about the ZPD, everyone could easily listen into their neighbors conversations, even if they didn't want to since the walls were so thin. It was silent for a few moments, that was until.

"Nick," she hissed raising an eyebrow, feeling one of his hind-paws rubbing against hers

"What?" he questioned, keeping his eyes on his work, with an almost untraceable smirk, and continuing to play pawsie with her.

"You know what," she hid her blush well and kept her voice calm, not wanting anyone to unearth what was going on if they passed their office, or overheard their conversation.

"I honestly don't know what you're talking about," he rubbed the top of her paw with his warm pads, something that he had learned about her and just rabbit's in general was that they lacked them.

"Stop it," she growled, looking up at him with a quick glare, as he became a tad bit more vigorous about it as she voiced her annoyance. It brought sensual emotions to the forefront of her mind, along with a pulling sensation in her stomach as well as her body to warm, enjoying the tender touches from her mate.

"Even if I knew what you were talking about why should I?"

"If you don't I'm going to work somewhere else for the afternoon," she said firmly, her lips forming a hard line, bordering on a pout.

"Don't be like that," he drawled out with an impish grin, his blank face finally falling.

"We're at work," she said desperately. Under any other circumstances she'd gladly welcome such affection, but they were working, and at the station no less.

"Alright, chill," he dragged his paw across hers one last time before he finally stopped.

"Sometimes I just want to taser you," she mumbled underneath her breath.

"Sometimes I just want to kiss you in front of everyone," he breathed so that no one could hear him, except for radar ears herself. Something he had wanted to carry out on many occasions, but had kept himself in check, not wanting their relationship to be announced to the world, more specifically, their parents.

"That's good, but save it for another time" she said, wrapping up the lull in their work. The tod huffed, with a bored expression written across his face, inside though he was bubbling with mirth.

A few hours quickly ticked passed them by as they continued to fill out their reports, only to be broken by their office's phone ringing.

"Officer Wilde?" the fox spoke into it as he had reached for the phone first. "Yes Sir, handing her over," he mouthed to her with a grin that it was for her, which was obvious.

"Officer Hopps, reporting Sir."

"Hopps, I need to see you in my office when you get a moment. I'd prefer in the next five minutes if it is not getting in the way of your important schedule," the familiar deep voice of the chief spoke, his voice devoid of emotion as it always was, which he would save till he was face to face with his officers.

"I'll be right up, Sir," she said putting the phone back.

"What does he need?" her partner asked, his curiosity growing.

"He didn't say, probably needs to talk to me about that raccoon I brought in two days ago," the rabbit said as she got up. "Could you…"

"I got it, go on," he said, turning her laptop to face him. He drew in the slips of paper that were stacked on her desk, looking through them as he continued where she left off. As it were he was getting close to finishing up his reports, so he might as well help her out a bit.

"Thanks, Nick," the doe stood up, but not before giving him a tender scratch underneath his muzzle, getting his right leg to kick a little. "Try not to have too much fun," she teased, her ears caught onto the sound of him letting out a soft hum, his attention returning to the dimly lit screen.

The walk to the chiefs office was short, leaving her barely any time to dwell on what he called her in for. It must have been something on the rather serious nature, since he hardly ever called an officer in to exchange pleasantries. Generally it was either to reprimand those who weren't carrying out their duties, not following protocol or causing too many distractions around the office space, or lastly had made a major blunder, which often than not saw that officer fired. None of these fell under the rabbit who performed her duties within the ZPD to the exact letter. That and she was quite comfortable with her position in the 1st Precinct seeing that it was the best branch in the department, as such she had no desire to be on the receiving end of the buffalo's _talks_.

It was effortless to say that they had quite a high reputation to hold, as such the chief had to direct a tight outfit. Usually, those who were deemed the best were hand chosen by him to be a part of precinct one. In regards to her own case, it was a different story, as Mayor Lionheart along with the city council had been able to sway Bogo to allow her on his force. Her mate on the other paw had only been able to get in because she had made a suggestion to the chief, along with him signing up as her partner. With these aside, it was normally only those who could only offer their best to their top notch group were allowed to stay. As the rabbit met all the required criteria for her chief and had proven herself time and again, she wasn't too worried, considering that she was performing admirably. If this hadn't been the case she would have been called in before now, seeing as the cape buffalo wasn't one to allow such issues to go unnoticed for long.

As she approached the door she stopped, still even to this day she wasn't sure if she was post to knock on her superiors door, announce herself or to just simply walk in. Four years since she had first reported for duty at the ZPD under Bogo's authority, yet she still didn't know how she was to enter his office.

Deciding to just announce herself, she gave a knock and called through the door. "Officer Hopps, Sir."

"Come in," he called back in the gruff tone that everyone had become accustomed to.

Opening and then closing the door as she walked in she headed to one of the vacant chairs in front of the bigger prey's desk. The rabbit had to hop into the chair which was excessively too big for her, Wilde could have sat neck to her and still left ample room to spare. The armrests were above her head, seeing as most of the officers were from larger prey and predators; elephants and bears being a few of the examples.

The rather intimidating animal had a hoof on the top of his desk , his digits drumming rather sluggishly against the polished wood, making dull, disconcerting thumping with his solid hoof like nails, his snout mirroring this with a bored expression to boot. Nothing had been said since she had sat down, the room starting to become increasingly uncomfortable from the tension filled atmosphere. This persisted for a couple minutes as the buffalo just watched the smaller mammal with contemplating eyes.

"Sir, what is this about?" Judy finally asked anxiously, her usually perky ears having laid back flat against her skull.

"Officer Hopps, I didn't mean to make this uncomfortable."

Bogo's voice was low as he apologized, taking on a certain gentleness that he would reserve for more sensitve matters. The lapin nodded, but this did little to ease her thoughts, there was a lot more to this then just chit chat, or to go over her some minor details. All the same, he gave her a curt nod back before he pressed on with what he had originally called her in here to discuss.

"First off, how have things between your partner and you since he was released?"

"Fine, Sir. He's been performing well," she gave him her honest opinion seeing as that was what he wanted.

"Good, but that's not what I meant," the bull stated bluntly. "Has he been acting strange emotionally around you, more irritable, phasing in and out, breakdowns or anything of that sort?"

"No, he's been his normal self, just a bit quieter some days than he normally is but he's still recovering."

"That's what I wanted to know, but that's not why I called you in here today," he slid a folder over to her, which was a file on the fox. "For the last three years he's been performing rather well for the ZPD...more than I originally thought he would, but you two seem to like proving me wrong," he snorted sarcastically, but wasn't done just yet.

"But, it's been brought to my attention that but he's been falling short in one of them. As you see in the file, he's been failing in certain procedures that have to be carried out in arrests. In particular, with predators," Judy was looking through the report, seeing for herself what her boss was telling her, along with skimming through the rest of it to see if there was anything else that wasn't in order.

"This is about the muzzles, Sir," the younger prey stated, having read through the reports on him.

"That's about it really on where he is lacking in his duties."

The larger prey crossed his arms on the desk, leaning forward a little ways so that their eyes actually met;instead of him just looking at the spot he guessed her face was hidden from the table. The doe's eyes looked into his with a blank expression, her eyes just as serious as his it would seem, understanding the gravity of the situation they were in, or so it would seem.

"I only know him as an officer and from the little information he has divulged about himself to me and the other officers here. His background records only tell me about the stuff he has gotten himself into, not who he is as an animal. I was hoping, since he's your partner, and from what I can tell a close friend, I need to know if you know anything more about this matter than I do," the chief elaborated his tone staying at the same calm understanding level. "I need to know because him coming in with predators that are violent without muzzles could possibly endanger himself and other officers, which we can't allow to persist."

"He's never…..brought in predators without a muzzle," Judy said having been with Nick on every arrest he's made thus far.

"Bad wording, I meant to say that he's never used a muzzle bringing in criminals, and last I checked his utility belt, he didn't seem to have any. That is unless he keeps them in his cruiser...but from checking requisition forms, he's lost quite a few of them. I see that you have the required two on your belt, so why doesn't your partner, is there something I need to know?"

"Officer Wilde…..." Judy let out a sigh, pressing the palm of her paw to her forehead, digging her claws through the fur in frustration. "...he hates them Sir," the chief sat back in his chair and crossed his arms, listening with interest.

"Why is that Hopps?"

"When he was…..Sir..."

"Enough of the formalities, Hopps," Bogo interjected, rolling his eyes humourously. "Just call me Chief or Bogo, giving me a headache with the Sirs."

"Yes s...Chief," she corrected herself, before returning to the topic at paw. "I don't think I can tell you…..it's confidential between us, it took a lot of trust for him to tell me," the rabbit trailed off, the loyalty to her partner as a friend and as her husband getting in the way of her lawful self.

"I'm going to have to implore that you do." The male grumbled out dryly." Your partner's job is on the line, I'm afraid I can't let him keep doing this, it's against regulations and conduct, unless we can fix this, he'll be forced to resign and that isn't up to me but what the regulations state."

 _Lo….los…lose his job. That would kill him, it would be devastating for him to lose his job here. I…I'm sorry Nick but this is for the best, Sweetheart…please don't be mad._ Judy thought forlornly, knowing that part of his life he wanted to be left secret.

"When he was eight years old he tried to join the local Junior Ranger Scouts in Nocturnal District. When he thought he was going to be initiated…th-the other kid...…they muzzled him….then savagely beat him and harassed him," she took a breath to calm herself, it was a heart wrenchingly sad story about her husband's past. "He's never been the same around muzzles since then. It's a trigger that sends him into traumatic episodes at times, he can't think straight, he becomes angry and he often times just emotionally breaks down...he even freezes. He….he's never gotten help for it, so that's why I think he doesn't carry them much less use them," she concluded.

"Tha-that would explain why he had to go to the hospital when he was eight," the buffalo mumbled, having read through the file a few times over the last couple days. The other officer's eyes widened a bit from hearing that so he added, "I assume he didn't tell you that he had to get stitches and had to get a cast for his arm," she shook her head, her muzzle open ajar in shock.

"I…he never...he...I knew he was beaten, but he never told me it went that far."

"Unfortunately this doesn't help Officer Wilde with his avoidance of his duties and disobeying regulations. I'm afraid tha…."

"Sir if I could propose something," Judy quickly cut him off, knowing that it wasn't the best idea to do so, but she didn't want her mate losing his job.

"Go on?" the bigger prey said, his voice remaining in the same gruff, calm tone it had been since the beginning of the conversation.

"What if…what if I found him help, if I could help him break his trigger with muzzles?" the younger officer was desperate, she hadn't a clue what she could do, if anything at this point. Though she was going to try her best to insure that he wasn't going to lose everything he had worked so hard for because of this.

"It's better of a start then none," the chief contemplated thoughtfully,"Wilde is a good officer around here, I would prefer if we keep it this way," he grumbled, rubbing his large snout with a hoof. "I'll give you three months, I know that the damage can't be fixed, but I need him to be able to at least function with having to use muzzles, there's no way around this one."

"Yes, Sir," the rabbit agreed, thoughts and ideas rushing through her head, ranging from therapy to less practical medical practices.

"That's all Officer Hopps," he dismissed.

"Yes, Sir," she said as she got out of the chair and left the bull's office.

Judy would have to bring this up with Nick when they were home, he might not take it too well here, more than ever since she revealed something about him he had primarily entrusted to her. She prayed he wouldn't be too mad, she had no choice this time. It was either this or him possibly losing his job for him being noncompliant with the codes and conducts that an officer had to uphold along with obey. Maybe things wouldn't be as bad as she feared, her mate was an understanding and very cool headed predator, it wasn't like he would start thinking she was conspiring against him.

As she got back to their office she hid her worries in the furthest recesses of her mind till a later time, not wanting her partner to pick up on that something was troubling her. He seemed to have bought it as he greeted her with that sleepy smile she had come so familiar to see on a daily basis. Being the curious male that he was he had asked her about why the boss needed her. She had come up with an explanation...more of a lie truth be told, but it wasn't a whole lie, as some of it was true. What she told was that the chief had just wanted to congratulate her on all her hard work that month. Along with suggesting that there were openings down at the academy for instructors, seeing that the new recruits could pick a thing or two up from her. The tod expressed that he was proud of her, glad to see that she was making such an impression around the station to be moving up in the ranks, and having positions opening up for her.

 _Sometime around 2100 that night….._

The rabbit and fox officers were found cuddled up on their couch in the den of their apartment that night, listening to the music at the end credits of the movie they had been watching. The film itself wasn't anything particularly special, only a horror movie on some teenagers having gone out to a cabin in the woods for a weekend; yet the situation had become ever increasingly more tense till they were eventually being picked off one by one, as they always seemingly did. Though the flick was...to put it simply more comedic than anything else, since it wasn't from their time. One could easily tell that it was one of the lower budgeted ones, but it was still enjoyable, to listen to at least. Since their eyes had become more increasingly focused on their partner, just to be put on pause by the seldom kiss and nuzzle they'd lavish to their beloved.

It had been a good evening for the two, no one had rung them up, nothing had been particularly bad about the day, at least to the fox's knowledge. His mate though had been hiding her anxiety all day, not knowing when or exactly how to go about what they she needed to discuss with him. At present she thought about bringing it up tomorrow night or on one their upcoming day's off, but this wouldn't do it was too important, it needed to be brought sooner rather than later, or the chief would inform him before she got the chance.

The doe's chaotic emotions must of shone through because the fox squeezed her waist with an arm he had draped around it, his free paw brushing down the fur on muzzle. She turned her head a little ways so she could look up at him, since she had been studying one of their throw cushions intricate weaving designs; trailing over how the separate interwoven threads would overlap one another, holding the downy material within. Their eyes met; something she had discovered early on from when they had first met , was that his emerald eyes were rather captivating. Especially in the dimmed lighting of the room causing them to appear to be darker, adding to the mystery of who he was. There was more to it than this, as their eyes were the nexus to their relationship, how they communicated and just how they expressed their love to their mate, both at moments like this and within their lovemaking.

"Boop," he remarked as he pressed their noses together, a type of kiss that was quite common amongst mammals.

"Nick…" she swallowed, knowing that the talk they needed would be a mood kill, along with what she had in mind to help him, that was if they even got that far.

"Everything alright, Carrots?" he murmured, pulling away a bit, leaving a couple centimeters between them. It must have been on the rather serious matter, since he could feel how tense she was against him.

"Everything's fine," her paws' claws played with the fur on his chest seeing as she had buttoned down his police shirt a ways earlier.

"Something's got you worked up," he felt the same paw suddenly clench a fistful of his fur, tugging on it tightly, not uncomfortably but enough to know that his suspicions were infact, correct. He cupped it with one of his larger ones. "Come on...there's no good hiding it from me," he sung with, finding it hard to repress a grin.

"I…it's about what Chief Bogo talked to me about today," she said miserably, seeing that this night was about to be ruined.

"You lied to me," he said candidly, making her grimace from how blank his tone had become.

"I didn't…...well-you see I thought it would be best that the rest of the station didn't hear about it," she mumbled, trying to pull away from him so they could have at least some space as they talked about this.

"What are you...…what's going on?" he asked skeptically, not letting his thoughts jump to any conclusions.

"Nick!" she sighed in exasperation, while she also shuffled uncomfortably from where she had scooted over to. "Bogo's noticed that you've gotten rid of the muzzles on your utility belt."

The lapin paused letting it sink in, he looked at the bookcase next to a smaller self that the television was resting on. It wasn't clear what he was looking at, maybe avoiding her eyes, either way it made her feel shut out.

"Ni….nick…we both know that it's against regulations to have certain pieces of gear missing from our belts…." there were tears attempting to spill from her amethysts, once again cursing the emotional side that she had inherited as the prospect of her husband losing his job became more of a reality.

"I know that you hate them but it's a big breach in conduct….your potentially putting yourself and others around you in danger by not having them, or using them….." he was silent, not having said anything. The prey was about to open her muzzle but he finally said something.

"You…..you know I can't work with them…I've tried," he returned his focus back to her, and she saw that he was agitated, his fur bristling enough evidence. "Every time I take them out, every time I see them …I…..I freeze….I break down…I fall apart," he took a deep breath. "I'm going to be forced to resign aren't I?"

"No….not yet," she whimpered, not liking the way he sounded so deflated. "I ha-had to tell the chief about what happened to you," she got out. The fox's eyes widened a little, an eyebrow rising above the other inquisitively.

"Abou..."

"The Junior Scouts," the younger officer was able to get out.

The predator's eyes shot open in shock…...betrayal unmistakably in his eyes. This was something she hadn't seen since the address she had made after they had thought that they had wrapped the missing animals case. The same look of hurt that he had worn when she had reached for the fox away spray, was now facing her once again.

"You did what?!" his voice rose a slight fraction, causing her to tremble, not in fear but in the guilt of having broken some trust between them. "N-no one was post to know about that, not a single soul!" a vicious growl accidently escaping him, his fangs being displayed as his hackles rose. This time she shook in fear and even pushed herself away a little.

"I…..I had no cho-choice…Ni-Nicholas….It was the only way I cou-could mak-make…mak-make-make," her stuttering came to end as she couldn't breathe properly, her chest rising and falling with heavy pants as she desperately tried to breathe. She was hyperventilating, pain erupting from her chest, falling prey to an anxiety attack. Something she hadn't suffered since she was a rookie in the academy five years ago, before then when she was in college and with all the stress of her finals.

"Jud-Judith," the tod's anger simmered away instantly, witnessing something that was scaring him, as he had never seen his wife like this, much less knowing she had anxiety attacks! Luckily that was something they were trained to deal with at the academy, just in case a fellow recruit had one and there weren't any instructors or security around to deal with it.

"Hey, breathe with me, Judith, breathe with me," he had faced her front away from him, then pulled her back flush against his chest, his arms wrapping themselves around her waist tightly, to keep her still. He breathed in and out slowly, trying to get her to follow his lead, that and trying his best to remain calm so he could better handle the situation at paw, him panicking wouldn't help settle the situation.

"Please honey, please calm down….god I'm so sorry.

The vulpine whined to her, ears laid back dejectedly, his red fur clinging to his body tightly, a few tears escaping his eyes as his vision blurred. Feeling her breathing start to fall in sync with his did little to sway him from the guilt that was overshadowing his heart, which was thumping painfully as he was practically choking from the swell of emotions. He tightened his hold around her waist, her breathing still sporadic enough to cause concern. They remained where they were for a quarter of an hour, till the doe had calmed down enough to breathe regularly again, if not ruggedly, her breaths coming out with slight whistles and hisses.

The tod's eyes were still a little glossy, warily he took a paw from his mate's waist, brushing the moisture from them. It wasn't a stroke or heart attack but it didn't mean it hadn't caught him unawares and almost scared the living daylights out of him. He returned his paw back to the bunny's waist, moving it up to stroke her stomach, knowing that she liked it and helped her calm down when she was under stress. Keeping his muzzle shut, but still breathing with her, he refused to let her go till he was sure that she was all right. It would have been helpful if she had informed him she was an animal who had anxiety attacks. He guessed that he knew now, and that would have to do since it was better than nothing.

Resting the underside of his muzzle against the top of her head he closed his eyes, holding her smaller body closer to him, afraid to let her go even for a minute. It was his fault, he should have been calmer, more understanding instead of reacting the way that he had. The guilt was still hanging over head head; he had always known that she was panicky and scared of predators when their moods changed. With them being as intimately and emotionally linked as they were only made it worse when he was in his rare foul moods. Particularly when these emotions were directed towards her as they normally were when they were arguing, the same could be said for her. She could be quite a scary little thing when she was truly upset with him.

"Judith, I'm so sorry," the fox breathed. One of her paws wrapped around his wrist, squeezing it, trying to reassure him she was alright.

"Nicholas…I'm fine….thank you," she said slowly.

"You...you're not going to pass out on me are you?" he chuckled weakly.

"Hmmpppp don't count on it, Scruff," she shuffled in his hold, finding the comfortable spot, but she felt her partner's paws flinching away from her."…don't let me go…please," she asked as she laid her head against his chest more, closing her eyes as she huffed and puffed, still trying to regain a normal breathing pattern, but found that it was a bit of a challenge when it felt she had run a fifteen mile sprint.

"I won't," he kissed her brow, holding her as she had asked him to.

Neither of them said anything for the next half an hour, for one it was starting to get late but they still had this talk to finish up. Then secondly, which was the most important, they were waiting for her breathing to return to normal, since it was still coming out sporadically, though it wasn't as bad as it had been. If there was one thing about him that was more defining than his flirtatious and affectionate character it was that he was extremely protective over his mate when she was hurt, physically or emotionally. A flaw to some degrees as it would often annoy her that he was treating her like a piece of delicate ice, which would break if the wind changed. Time was lost between the two, as another quarter of an hour passed by. Seeing as enough time had come and gone, along with the fact that her breathing was under control, the other officer rolled in her partner's arms so she was now facing him, to some extent. Considering as her head was resting on the upper portion of his chest, which was rising and falling with her own, given that they had fallen in sync with one another.

"Feeling better?" he asked, his paw stroking the fur from the back of her skull to her fluffy tail soothingly.

"Much, sorry I didn't tell you about that," she mumbled, closing her eyes, feeling just a tad bit foolish.

"Don't be, I wasn't exactly being reasonable," he kissed the side of her cheek, giving it a tender, gentle nip, something he rarely did. Due to the fact that his fangs were sharp and could easily hurt her if he wasn't careful, that and he would save it for more passionate activities.

She let out a deep breath before propping her elbows on his chest so she could get a better look at him.

"Do you mind if we continue?"

"No…it's important….sorry for overreacting like last time."

"You didn't overreact, it was something that you didn't want anyone else knowing about. It's okay," she consoled.

"As you were going to say, Carrots," he persuaded, not wanting to talk about it, but his job was on the line, that and after putting her through that ordeal he sort of owed it to her.

"Bogo is giving me roughly three months to help you with this, or at least make it so you'll use muzzles out in the field."

"It can't just be fixed," he scoffed.

"He knows, but all he asking for you is for you to be work with them without freaking out, he doesn't expect you to like using them."

"I don't really have a choice if I want to keep my job do I," she shook her head and he dropped his head back with a groan.

"Look at me, look at me, seems like everyone is kicking me while I'm down. First it's the shooting then the spat with my mother, then it's this, it's like life has a cruel sense of humor or something," the male muttered.

"I guess I have to go see a psychologist or something?" he added as he glanced back down at her, noticing that she was deep in thought. "Can we even afford that right now, I just got sent to the hospital, I doubt our insurance wants to cover for something else."

"There's another way we could do this, but I know you'll hate it," she expressed, having drawn away to sit on her knees.

"I honestly don't want to pay a therapist. What's your idea then," he grumbled. This was his wife, the animal that he confided so much to, what she was suggesting couldn't be all that bad.

"Well there's nothing to fear but only fear itself. So I was thinking...the best way I can see you getting over this...is to embrace it, so it no longer affects you," she had gotten up from the couch, walking into their bedroom, motioning him to stay with a gesture of the paw as he had started to sit up. A few moments passed, leaving the predator to his thoughts, only to be broken away from them when returned. His emerald pools instantly shot to what she was holding in her paws. It was a muzzle. A plain looking metal muzzle with black elastic straps. One that he could easily tell was built for a long angular muzzle, a fox.

The doe watched the fox eye it skittishly, it was pretty evident that he didn't even want to be in the same room as it. Speaking clearly she sat on the opposite side of the couch, letting the contraption rest in her lap. She saw him glaring at it hatefully, but he pulled his attention away from it with a defeated sigh.

"Please tell me you're joking?" it was rhetorical, as he could see the serious expression her muzzle had taken as well as her eyes. "Well...it was only a matter of time till I found out you had a bondage fetish...never thought that it would imply me being the victim though," he tried to joke it off, just to receive a halfhearted chuckle and shake of the head from his mate. "Soooooo, how long would I have to be wearing it," he finally got out, coming to terms her plan.

"I don't know, animal's react differently to different healing techniques...I'm not even sure if this will help, it could make it worse," the rabbit explained anxiously. "You'll only have to wear it at home...the time you do is up to you, it could be while we're sleeping, for a couple hours in the evening….maybe just wear it for the entire time we're home till we leave in the morning," she suggested.

"I….I don't want to do this, Judith" the predator whined submissively. The female officer nodded, they didn't have to go about it this way if he didn't want.

"If this is making you uncomfortable we don't have to," she laid a paw on the back of his, running her fingers through the course red fur lovingly.

"My job's sort of on the line," he closed his eyes tight, turning his head away for a few moments, clenching his jaw muzzles tightly. "I...to lose my job though…I can't," he scooted closer to her, till he was sitting next to her, their legs touching. "You'll be there to help?"

"Yes, every step and if it becomes too much, I'll take it off," she reassured, knowing that the last time one of these had been used on him he was eight, under some of the worst circumstances that any animal could imagine.

"It's going to be uncomfortable to sleep with….for the both of us," he smirked humorlessly, trying to defuse some of the tension, though it was more for himself.

"As long as you don't nuzzle we should be fine," she sucked in a breath nervously.

"Amongst other things," he leaned in and kissed her gently. When he pulled away he gave a brave smile, "Well…..we're wasting time…get it on officer."

"We don't have to do this tonight," she went to move the muzzle to the side but he stopped her, covering the paw that she had placed on it with his own.

"If we put it off tonight, I'm going to keep putting it off…or sell the muzzles you bring back to someone who could have use for them," he was serious, having done that when he was a con-artist with muzzles the officers lost. It was so they weren't put into the wrong hoof or paws that would abuse them.

"If you're absolutely sure," the lepus picked it back up hesitantly.

"Nah, let's put it off for about another forty years or so," he quipped sarcastically, although he shuffled a bit so he could more easily lean down, making it easier for his mate to get it on him.

With his head in easier reach the off-duty rabbit officer started to slip it on, making him squirm a bit, till he let out a high whine as his fur got caught between the interlocking joints.

"I know, I know," she cooed, carefully untangling his fur. His emerald eyes looked up to her miserably, his dark tipped knife-like ears having folded flatly against his head, nose twitching weakly, and the way his lips were casted down, tugged on her heart painfully.

"Hey, nothing's going to happen."

Judy stroked the top of his head lovingly as he let out another series of whines and whimpers, she had never seen him act like this before, it was so out of character from what she was used to that she almost didn't now how to approach it. It took a couple of minutes but he eventually settled down, giving a small nod, letting her know that she could carry on. The most difficult part to work with was by far the straps, as it was a new muzzle they were stiff and very stubborn to stretch or do anything that she wanted them to. Eventually, she was able to get the straps into place so it fit snugly before she tightened them. It wasn't as taut as they usually had them on struggling criminals, but enough so that it wouldn't come off easily.

When it was all said and done, her husband sat up, taking deep breaths with his eyes shut tightly, willing his mind to realize that he was safe, that nothing bad was going to happen to him. But, even now he could hear those other kids voices, remember where they had hit him, the things they had said, as though it was only hours ago and not years. It took a few minutes for him to calm himself, yet it hadn't done the job like it usually did. He couldn't just will the muzzle away, since it wasn't a mental thing but an actual physical object that was fastened to him, reminding him that it was still there. When he opened his eyes he looked back at her. Even though it was obscured from the restraint, the corners of his lips twitched into a weak smile, reminding the prey of a character in a movie they had recently seen.

"Well, I'll be needing a straw to drink stuff now," he chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his head furiously, as he thought about how ridiculous just drinking would be with the muzzle on..

"You can take it off whenever you want, or ask me to do it," she reminded him, having pressed herself to his side, arm encircling his middle, trailing a paw across his flank.

"No, I'll keep it on tonight, we-we'll see where this goes," he mumbled, finding it hard to move his mouth in the limited space it had.

"You'r...you're taking this surprisingly well," she disclosed, unsure if he actually was, or if this was more of an act. It was hard to tell with him.

"Erhhhhhh...I wouldn't say that," he laughed gruffly. "I-I'm...not feeling very well, Fluff " he grumbled as his head started to pound with every heartbeat, his ears twitching as he thought he heard the echoey scream of a child.

"Do you want to go to bed, or have a lie down," already she had sat up, offering her mate a paw.

"Sure," he took it, his muscles tensing as he had the sudden urge to run, but it quickly passed.

What had happened to him had been decades ago but even now he felt like he was back in the basement with those other kids. Even now he could remember what they had been saying, what they had done. But what stuck out the most was the pain, the excruciating pain from both the blows they had landed and his core from their harsh words. How such a small little device of metal and leather was able to do this, troubled him. It was as if he wasn't himself anymore, reverted back to his eight year old self, full of so much fear, so much hurt as he was beaten, coming to realize how his kind was seen by other animals, how predators were seen by the majority of society.

Judy had carefully led them to their room after turning off all the lights, as well as the television, doing her best to maneuver them through the dark without too many incidents. Still it was tricky, as it was hit and miss for her to able to distinguish any shape from her poor eyesight with the lack of lighting; it was irritating since rabbits naturally lived underground, why out of all her siblings she was blind in the dark was a mystery to her family and doctors alike. Being that she was blind without light, the only way they had avoided crashing into something was due to the fact that she had memorized a path. Well enough since so many early mornings or late nights had resulted with her stumbling and jamming toes against corners and furniture legs.

Eventually they were able to crawl underneath the welcoming covers of their bed, having already stripped the rest of their uniforms to adopt their nightwear, hers being a pair of loose fitting black boy shorts and a blue sleeveless crop top. The fox just wore a simple pair of gray boxer shorts, though he wondered why since their fur easily hid their more private areas. But their room had been a little chillier of late, seeing at it was December. This could have been easily remedied by turning the heating up, but it wasn't pressing enough for them to do so, that and it was rather obvious that they were mammals with fur. Zootopia's temperatures changed throughout the years and all the different artificially created environments would have noticeable changes. Tundratown would be even colder during the cold months of the year, temperatures reaching to negative fifty or higher at night, while in the day it was in the low negatives to the low single digits. Savannah was no exception to the weather or the natural climate.

When the light had been turned off, their room effectively being shrouded in a dark blanket, the rabbit pressed her back snugly against her mate's chest. Being almost twice her height, the fox curled his body around hers, his shins pressing against the back of her heals. An arm covering her waist, the other was shoved beneath his pillow where he laid his head. His bushy tail proved to be a happily accepted blanket of sorts, which often then not twitched.

Nick's eyes were already closed, his knife like ears laying against the back of his head, his mouth closed with a thin smile as he breathed through his nose. The only difference in the usual atmosphere they created in bed was that the fox was unusually quiet, normally it was a struggle to get him to stop talking. This along with his breathing was off from what she was used to. Her sensitive ears could easily hear how it parted from the metal links that formed the muzzle, making it sound louder as it rustled around them.

"You okay, Sweetheart?" the doe questioned, trailing a paw through the fur on the back of his, which was resting against her hip, thumb lazily tracing patterns into the downy soft grey fur..

"Mmmm fine, just tired," he breathed, moving his head to get comfortable, since the frame around his muzzle propped his head up a tad, changing his sleeping habit a bit. The muzzle itself wasn't uncomfortable, the inside of the links of metal were padded with a firm yet yielding fabric; clearly one of the newer ones as the old ones were just metal and cloth.

"If you need to get it off later, wake me," she yawned, closing her eyes, seeing as everything was black either way.

"I will, night, Sweet Bun," he purred, giving her a final squeeze that night till they fell asleep.

"Night, see you in the morning," she yawned, her eyes falling shut as she gradually drifted off to sleep.

 _A little pass 0200…_

Emerald eyes suddenly snapped open as he pushed himself up, paws splayed out behind him, his chest rising and falling as he panted for breath. The first thing that came into focus was what he guessed to be the grayish outline of a bedroom, but this was soon pushed away as an onrush of questions rushed to the forefront of his mind. Was he safe? Did they know where he was? Did he remember to lock the door before he fell asleep...did he cover up his trail? What district was he in, further still what time was it? Was he even still in a district? These were some of the questions his mind's voice echoed to him, just as lost as he was. Blinking measuredly a few times to clear his vision, he tried to run his paw over his face, but his finger's became entangled in between gaps of metal. His heart which had just begun to settle down had just started to race wildly once again, as he came to realize the reality of the predicament he was

 _I was hoping it was a dream...this should be a dream…..I-I thought it was just a dream…no, no, no. No...NO! This can't be happening! None of this is real...I-I. I shouldn't be here, unless...What is going on!_

The fox shook his head vigorously, wrenching his fingers free as he started to pat at the muzzle, trying to find a way to get it off if he could. He felt the straps which he got a firm grip on and attempted to pull his head free from the restraint, all the while an onslaught of new questions came. How had this happened? How could society agree to muzzle and track predators with collars, one's that could deliver agonizing shocks if they became too excited, or in the case of them being _savage_ they were…...

One of his paws forgot about the muzzle, only to shoot for his throat, feeling around for the cold, heavy, metal choker. It wasn't there, he couldn't feel anything digging into his neck, that and he couldn't see the small light that was usually attached. Maybe it had all just been a terrible nightmare. Yet, if that was the case, then why was he wearing a muzzle? He started to pull on it again, not being able to slip it off, as he had come to discover that it was too tight. Maybe the collars had just been the dream, the rest of this though was reality, his mind had just been showing him how much worse it could have been...although there was always the chance that they had chips embedded underneath the flesh instead of collars. That thought was enough for him to double his efforts, once it was off he'd figure out where to go from there. If only if he could get the damn thing off.

Nick started to let out deep growls and high pitched whines as he became desperate, pulling on it even as the elastic fabric groaned. The risk of it tearing out his fur his fur anymore no longer mattered, anything was better than being treated like this. He had sat up, back pressed against the backboard, his hind-paws digging into the bed to give him some better footing. Tossing his head from side to side as he pulled, did little more than pull painfully at his fur, that it felt like he'd tear his own skull from his spine before he managed to get free. His attention slightly shifted as he finally became aware that he wasn't exactly alone in the bed. Was he married? Maybe this was just a friend letting him share the bed with them, whoever it was it didn't occur to him to ask them for help.

The other animal moved besides him in the bed, his eyes noticing a pair of long ears, the tips of them were a darker shade of fur. It could be Finnick, it could be any number of animals, he didn't know, either way he was confused at who it possibly was. This did little to sidetrack him from his struggling till he realized something. If it was a friend or even a mate they could possibly turn him in if they saw him trying to get his muzzle off...were there laws about that? Heck, he didn't know anything at the moment other than that it was cutting into his face now from him messing with it. Either way, he didn't want to find out if there were reprimations for taking them off. He tried to untangle his fingers but he wasn't given time.

The tod yelped as his eyes were suddenly stabbed with tendrils searing agony from the light being turned on. He writhed, getting entangled in the covers and knocking a couple pillows from the bed, the fingers of his paws pressed tightly against one another to keep out the light as they covered his face.

"Ni-Nicholas," came the voice of the other occupant. Curiosity got the better of him as he stole a glance, but his vision was still too blurry with heavy black after images to make out what he was seeing, or who the female was. He hid himself away again, the light still too much for his aching emerald orbs.

"Let me get this off," he felt her smaller paws, pulling on the straps, starting to loosen them.

"No, leave it on!" he caught one of the other animal's wrists with a paw. He held the surprisingly slim arm firmly but with tenderness, not wanting to scare or hurt her since she was only trying to help.

"No? You know what we agreed on, it has to come off," she pulled her paw free and started working on the straps, only to have him roughly push her away, shirking away till he fell out of the bed, landing with a heavy thump as his back met the carpet.

"Nick...that hurt," she whimpered as she rested a paw on her gut, her eyes watering a little from having her breath knocked out of her.

"Nick?" he heard her whimper and call his name as he backed into the opposite side of the room till he slammed the back of his head against the wall, causing his head to feel like it was spinning.

"Oh sweet cheese 'n crackers," she groaned, his ears perking up from the sound of the sheets ruffling together as she crawled out of the bed.

"I-I, we shouldn't...just leave it on," he snapped, not wanting whoever this animal was to get in trouble on his behalf. He shouldn't have even tried to do that in the first place, tampering with them in any way was five years in prison straight away, without trial or even a verdict to know if he was innocent or guilty, it was just a straight sentencing, his mind catching up wit him as he recalled what happened last time he had messed with one.

The tod felt the female's arm brush against his as she sat rather close to him. It was more along the lines of her slumping next to him on the floor, wrapping an arm around his neck, while stroking the top of his head, her claws running through his fur tenderly, making him calm down.

"You're all sweaty…..and your furs a mess" she breathed into his ear softly, pulling him closer. He wrapped his own arms around her, eyes closed tightly as they still stung from what was basically a flashbang.

"Sor-sorry about that," he chuckled despite it all.

"What am I going to do with you, Red?" it was a rhetorical question, not meant to be taken literally.

"I'm hoping that a kind little bunny such as yourself won't throw me out." The predator guess she was a rabbit as his nose had picked up the familiar smell of timothy hay coming from her fur, it was faint though.

"In your underwear? I think you and I'd be charged for public indecency," she chuckled, persuading him to lay on his side so his head was resting in her lap, which he easily complied to. The tip of his mauve nose twitched as he picked up familiar scents coming from her, helping to jog his memory and finally realize where he truly was, what was actually going on. He kept on sniffing, his nose against her inner thigh as he nuzzled affectionately.

"Cold!" the doe squeaked from the ticklish sensation from that sensitive area.

"Sorry about that, Fluff...guess my nightmare got out of paw," he tried to assure his mate….reality having finally come back to him in its entirety.

"I can see that."

The rabbit murmured, her paws working on the straps again, this time without any interruption. She pulled off the muzzle at last, then threw it away from them; it gave a heavy muffled thud when it hit the floor. Having seen her husband the way he was, she wanted it as far away from him as possible. From what had transpired she now felt like a complete idiot, knowing that the entire ordeal was her fault. How she could have thought that this was possibly a good ideas was beyond her presently. He was scared to death of muzzles, him acting as calm as he had earlier should have been clear warning bells to her that there was something off.

"Thank you," the vulpine mumbled as he sat up so he was next to her, blinking his eyes slowly as they adjusted to the dim light.

After letting out a tired sigh he rested the side of his head against the top of his bunny, he felt her hold him closer, both of them being tugged away from their dark thoughts. He took comfort in being held by the one he loved. Being this close to her, washed feelings of security and those that only the benefit of being mates brought.

"Your welcome," she sighed, looking at the mess his fur was in currently in, having seen it all brushed down and tidy after their shower together earlier that night. He was shivering slightly as well, either from the cool air of their room or if it was because he was still jumpy, either way she didn't know. "Sorry about the light," understanding that it hurt his eyes a lot when he wasn't given time to adjust to it.

"It's fine," he blinked a few more times, seeing that his vision was returning, shapes starting to come into focus instead of just being dark indistinguishable blurs. He pulled away from her, looking at the room, seeing the muzzle a meter away from them. Then seeing the earthly-brown covers of the bed on the floor, along with the grass-green pillows as they had been skewed all over.

"Sorry for waking you...and for socking you too," he expressed as he got up, lending a paw to her too.

When they were both on their rear-paws he gave her a look over, his eyes focusing on every little detail as they trailed over every centimeter of her, trying to identify any bruises if there were any. When he saw that there weren't he visibly relaxed a little, glad that he hadn't done anything serious to her when he wasn't in his right state of mind. After he pressed a kiss to the root of her muzzle, he padded his way over to the mess that he had made from his thrashing, but he gave the muzzle a wide berth as he completely avoided it.

"It's fine," the younger officer dismissed as it wasn't his fault.

Bending over, she picked up the restraint, laying it down on her bedside table, then proceeded to help her partner in remaking their bed. A few minutes after they had remade it, they were underneath the covers, the predator had his arms behind him, his head resting against the pillows and his paws, eyes glaring up at the ceiling darkly. The prey was sprawled out next to him, mirroring his position, but her amethyst gems were focused on his muzzle.

"Stupid," Nick muttered as he rearranged his legs so they were more comfortable, that and to free his tail from beneath them. This comment prompted for Judy to roll onto her side, resting her head on a perched paw as she looked down at him, her other one she used to stroke the fur from his chest down to his lower abdomen.

"I've never seen you have a nightmare like that," she whispered, his eyes leaving the ceiling to look into her eyes, his body mirroring hers as he faced her, paw moving to her hip to rub it soothingly, considering that was where he had sort of punched her earlier.

"It was horrible."

The rabbit was hesitant in asking anything but finally managed, "Why did you stop me from taking it off earlier?"

Nothing came for a few minutes till she was about to ask again but was proven wrong when, "Judy…it's too early, we can talk about this later," the fox breathed softly, not wanting to trouble her with it.

"Not this time, Sweetheart," she stood firm, wanting to know, since that had gotten way out of paw. It was as if he hadn't recognized her for a few moments there.

"Fine, just let me think," another few minutes passed as he put he collected his thoughts, trying his best to remember what he could of the dream, as it had started to fade.

"In my nightmare…...well everything was different, I know big shocker," he trailed off as he chuckled. "Everything we know….everything that Zootopia is, what the world is, was off. Not like animal's fur being naturally pink and, everyone having four fingers, but just society," he waved a hand out, starting to lose what he could remember of the dream, the details becoming hazy wisps to catch.

"Well, predators were being treated differently, it was like something from when or parent's were kids and growing up. You remember when there were laws for predators to wear muzzles?"

"Yeah...my great grandfather always brings up that kind of stuff...I can't believe that used to be a thing. I understand the war had been bad...but to do that was..."

"Extreme."

"Mmmmm."

"Well in my dream...strangely enough the muzzles weren't all that bad. Sure we had to wear them day in and day out, only allowed to take them off at certain times to eat meals, or to let our jaws un-stiffen…..but then we were given these shock collars which were impossible to get off, needing an officer to put in a coded key. They'd only do this for emergencies and treated us like monsters when they were off," he looked at her, remembering her in the dream…..she had been a higher rank then she was now, a lieutenant or something like that. Either way she was a lot tougher, almost sadistic with the way she executed her duties, to both prey and predators.. She also had deep scars from a clawing on her left cheek, the fur that grew there was shorter than the rest.

"These collars," he continued seeing that she had gotten shy under his scrutinizing stare, "they would send these agonizing shocks when we'd became aggressive…...or if we became excited...I think they regulated heartbeats...I don't know, but it was to make sure we didn't become feral...or even savage," he mumbled the last word, having had nightmares if he had gone savage when they were trying to escape Bellwether and her goons. Whatever the circumstances, he'd end up reverting to a more violent nature, attacking her when she was injured. These nightmares were easily the worst he had ever had, each one seemingly to get more gruesome and cruel. This was in the past though and held no meaning in their current conversation.

"For the crimes that predators committed in the last war, we were all treated like criminals...for the better good is what they said it was for. I…I don't know what I did, but I got the collar off, I hid away on the outskirts with other predators, a secret community of some sorts. Then you," he looked at her, in his dream she had been a ruthless officer, only driven by duty and orders, here now in his eyes he saw a strongly independent doe who was compassionate yet tough at the same time, his wife.

Again forcing himself to keeping recounting this vision, his voice rising and falling with intensity as he told her his dream, "You and these other officers were sent to capture us eventually. We blew up the rail's in the Rainforest district, stopping the train system completely...I don't know why, but it got some important political prey leaders killed...I know that you were hurt by a wolf...the details are fuzzy but I saved you and got us away. I don't know why I saved you. I think I regretted it when you woke up...you fell unconscious from the blood loss, forogt to mention that," he mumbled, shaking his head, irritated about his dodgy memory.

"Well when you woke up you tranqed me...when I was patching you up no less. Everything…..it becomes unclear after that…..I woke up, you were unconscious again...we ended up at your parent's place...I helped you with a missing animals case...I ended up getting my chest clawed open from a jaguar...I brought you to my family's home...we fell in love...or something like that. But then it all went from bad to worse...I was arrested...a false trail, a couple days in a cell….then I was taken into this dark room...and I was given a lethal injection...you were there I think...making sure that I didn't escape," he gulped, remembering in his mind's eyes the way she had been watching him, eyes full of what looked to be hurt and anger...overwhelmed with sorrow as there was nothing she could do. He had been found guilty for the murder of the missing animals, someone had been pulling the strings the entire time and he had blundered onto the stage.

Judy had been scratching his neck as he recounted his dream, listening to the hellish vision he described to her. He had tears silently falling when he had finished, giving a little sniffle every so often. She couldn't imagine what other little details he had left out, about this other Zootopia, and how everything was so...opposite to what they knew. How different everything must have been for him, how different she was from how he described her...could she possibly been that other officer, been someone to support such a corrupt system. Honestly she wanted to say no, but she knew that she couldn't say for certain, seeing that this other version of her had grown up in a very different world. It was all possible at the end of the day, but she knew this. It wasn't real, and they were here, together as loving wife and husband.

"Nick…..that's never going to happen, and I'll never be like her. I love you too much," she didn't know what else to say, instead she kissed him on his brow, trying her best to soothe his overstressed mind as well as her mate.

"I know, I know. It was just a dumb dream...a really scary dumb dream, but you get the idea...a world without helpful con-artists helping rabbit's on cases to stop crazy sheep from taking over society. That and a world without me, what an even worse nightmare," he chuckled it off, distancing himself from it.

Walk away from everything when they stepped into their uniform, let all attachments go, see the world through a lens where there duty was clear. That was something his instructor had told his class, it was the best way to approach or leave behind a case, to go about one's day. This couldn't happen though, they made attachments with their fellow officers, became friends and brother and sisters who were all in the same boat. All of them facing the same dangers that greeted them every day when they walked out the door. Off duty, to try and forget about it, don't ponder on it or they'd soon lose themselves to it, trying to get too attached was what they were told. But that was easier said than done. The things they witnessed as officers, it was enough to haunt them for the rest of their days.

"It's not though…you Dumb Fox," she shoved him slightly making him grin, as he wiped the tears away, having noticed them.

"My thoughts sometimes," he chuckled, with a small grin, as she pushed him again.

"Your imagination has always been strange," she quipped, as she crawled onto him, keeping herself up on his chest with her elbows.

"It's definitely ingenious, but foxes are better at everything then you dumb, adorable bunny's," he snickered.

"Nicholas!" she slapped his chest and shoved his muzzle out of the way, trying to rid her smile.

"Yeah I know, you hate me, but god you must really be addicted to me if you're still here," his paw trailing up and down her spine, occasionally dipping lower than it should have been, though it didn't earn him any complaint.

"Whatever makes you feel better about yourself," she kissed him deeply, her tongue brushing against the tip of his teasingly as she pulled away just as quickly.

It was silent for a time as they laid there, letting everything calm itself down again that night. First her anxiety attack, then his nightmare…..they definitely were a pair fit for one another. This aside the male officer reckoned that it was the muzzle that had caused his nightmare, though he had fallen asleep quite easily, his dreams were definitely out of the ordinary. None of them had been as bad as the last one which had ultimately woken him up….it wasn't every night that one was killed in their own dreams in such an intense way.

Thinking on the matter of the muzzle, he turned his head a little, seeing it on his wife's bedside table. Sitting there and awaiting for some-animal to use it. He glared at it as though it was looking at him expectantly, telling it off for even having the gall to think of such an idea. It was an inanimate object but his hatred towards it, just them in general always made them feel like they were more than just that. Just like an ideal or idea it shared the same principals, here it was a symbol of security...in his nightmare it was a sign of authority over the abused, a tool of punishment for the mistakes that couldn't be helped to be made.

"Are we putting it back on?" the tod inquired, pulling his attention away from it once again.

"Not now," the doe yawned knowing what he was asking," You've had more than enough, for one morning, maybe later," she kissed him again, reassuring him. "Now, it's time that this bunny gets some sleep," she tried to get up to turn off the light but he did it for her, seeing that she was comfortable with him being her pillow.

"Let's keep this between us," he kissed her in the dark, knowing that she couldn't see him, or anything to be exact.

"Oh, the great Nick Wilde not writing and sharing his ideas to make a few extra bucks on the side," her voice was muffled, as she snuggled into his neck, giving it a quick nibble knowing that he was ticklish here since he would squirm when she did. Her mate couldn't have all the fun.

"Trust I'm a lot happier here," he mumbled out, his healing wound playing up a little from all the stress he had put it through. "Just mean's I have to relive it," he added as an afterthought, his paw resting on her rump, not showing any signs of moving, nor getting any objection, so far. Something he knew that the other rabbit officer would have teased him about. Still it didn't deter him from kneading her warm, firm rear, getting her to murr into his fur heartily.

"You need to be more risky to get ahead in life, Wilde " a small smile tugged at her lips as she heard him purr from scratching his chest.

"Just you wait, Dumb Bunny" he growled amorously. "I'll show you just how daring foxes are," the last sounds of that night was a soft squeal from Judy as she felt a paw nab her fluffy tail. She responded by slapping his chest with the flat of her paw, scowling at what she presumed was his face in the dark.

The fox fought to stifle his laughter so it wouldn't evoke her to smack him again, but it was terribly challenging since she was blushing so furiously. Wanting to stop ragging his mate he brushed his nose against her smaller one, she brushed back, not actually mad with him. After being with him as a mate for two years, she understood his playful and flirtatious side very well, knowing that they were most of the time paw in paw, especially since he reserved it for her, seeing that she was so easy to mess with and secondly because she was his wife.

It wasn't too long before the two officers had fallen back under the spell of sleep, the earlier events of the morning being pushed off to the side. Not completely forgotten as this was only the first night that the fox would have to wear the restraint, for now it was a distant thought, nonexistent to him as he slept with his wife in his arms.

* * *

 ** _HI: Another chapter updated, by popular demand...hope you enjoy these updated chapters. Future warning, some will change a great deal, may or may not have a bunch of extra additions based on the realization and being notified of mistakes that I clumsily made...:P We're not all perfect, so it was bound to occur. Welp, no good weeping over it, besides, I quite enjoy these updated ones, rids the errors and also makes the chapters flow more smoothly. ENnjoy, also please leave a review if you feel inclined. Also, you lucky, lucky, lucky, lucky readers and writers who read this story, I put in three quotes for you in this, including one of my own, hahaha. Either way, enjoy and tell me what you though if you want. SOOOOO, this isn't original, if you see this italicized bold, it means that I have come through and fixed stuff up, at least in the A/Ns. Cheerio mates, gotta go._**

 **HI: I'm keeping it like this, XD, ain't that a stinker. Now onto more serious and sensitive stuff. I hope you guys have all been doing well with recent events and my heart goes out to any of you who have been affected lately. I can't honestly say that I can relate, not many of us I think can, but I'm sorry for anyone who is suffering with a loss due to these terrorist attacks that have been wracking the world we all love and live in. This time will pass, hopefully not too many more innocent people are killed till it is finally over. My heart as i says goes out to anyone who is hurting right now, it's going to be alright, maybe not now but hopefully it will be soon.**

 **As promised here's Chapter V. I tried to get this done Tuesday night, but something came up Monday, putting me back a six hours of typing. So here it is now, hope you guys enjoy this, and Chapter VI will be out sometime by Saturday or Sunday Night. Anyways, this was a fun chapter to write, please feel free to review to notify me of my mistakes or tell me what you guys honestly thought. Review it, favor it, follow me or the story, whatever you want, but thanks for whatever kind of support you give this story. Sincerely from my heart I thank all of you who have welcomed my story with such open arms, and I hope I continue not to disappoint.**

 **Lastly, I scaled up what happened to Nick when he was eight as you probably noticed, and probably guessed in chapter two as I state that Nick broke his arm when he was six. I know that it didn't happen but I wanted to enforce more of Nick's traumatic childhood event, though it already was in its original, I just wanted it to stick more to him. Though not mentioned, his arm was broken by accident, one of the kids went too far and that's when they stopped, and that is when he ran out of the building. Also, poor Nick and that nightmare, but that idea isn't entirely mine, some parts were but others weren't. If you do some digging as I'm sure most of you have by this point then you'll know that Zootopia was meant to follow Mr. Wilde as the protagonist and that it was meant to be a much darker story, with how predators are treated much like prisoners within their own homes and society, or this was one of the original ideas. Thankfully it wasn't, but it could still of had Judy and Nick being together to add conflicting romantic emotions towards each other, with how society would be it would have made an interesting story as well. Anyways, enough of the word wall.**

 **There's one more thing. A question has come up by _sunlightcity,_ he states "Why do they sometimes talk about gods in plural? Unless you've decided to change that, the movie establishes that Zootopia's religions are basically the same as ours." I've been meaning to get to this, but always forgot about it. Yes in a way I have changed it up a bit, but also I haven't. It has not been confirmed if Judy or even Nick are religious, as such I added my own little interpretations. Nick is semi religious, he had faith when younger but it was broken after his beating, having given up on a idea of a just and loving God. Judy is not sure what religion she believes in, and as such is very open towards all relgions, so she refers to them as Gods. Thanks for asking that question sunlightcity, I hope I answered it(Also this is the last massive titain wall, I'm getting annoyed with them). **

**This is R.A. singing off, oooh, (turns around to add) before I forget. For those of you who are expecting an intense love scene, there will be one, just don't know when I will fit it in with the story. When it does the story chapter will have this beneath it, so you can skip it if you like (** **M** **). That I used for heavily mature and descriptive love scenes, so please don't roast my wings off for it, also the previous placements stand, five reviews or pms sent my way to up the rating. Anyways, good night all of you and enjoy the chapter.**


	6. Down Time

**_Chapter_**

 ** _VI_**

 ** _Down Time_**

"You do understand that most animals use mornings, to sleep, right?" Nick rasped, keeping up with his partner on their regular morning run, his breaths appearing to be white wisps of smoke as the cold froze the moisture. Old smoker breath, as he referred to it when he was a teen with some of his fellow con-artist friends.

"Well I don't, it's a waste of a day," she shot back, keeping her eyes ahead of her so she didn't smash into a traffic light, or a pedestrian that happened to be up at this hour.

"Be glad we have thick fur, or I would have been a foxcicle," he mumbled as he felt a stitch form in his side, making it difficult to breathe much less jog. He simply paid it no attention, or he would start to lag behind.

The two were silent for a few streets, the sounds between them were their pawfalls along with their rhythmic breathing, or in the fox's case, panting. Not because he was tired or out of shape, it was just a way his species, along with most predators expelled heat. They could sweat, an evolutionary adaptation but it did little to help them shed heat. In his case he was far from being unhealthy, his body having become more muscular and toned since the academy. This along with participating with his mate's routine work outs. Which weren't as bad as he would make them out to be when talking to his friends and his more friendlier associates at the station.

However the first three weeks had been difficult, since he was fed up of drills, and the constant running from being in the ZPA (Zootopia Police Academy) for a year. Like everything else that approached him in life, he had soon adapted, mainly because he liked spending time with his wife and he liked what he could do with a healthier body. There was an underlying reason, and that was his companion appeared to enjoy feeling his more defined body. Whatever it took for her to be more pawsie with him, he would take it. What could he say, he was an affectionate male who couldn't stop himself from touching his wife, along with him loving any kind of physical contact she bestowed upon him. He didn't like her more aggressive slaps, which were rare seeing as it was reserved when he deserved them.

Speaking of which, Judy all of a suddenly started to lose the pace she held with her husband, already starting to fall behind him till he was quite a bit ahead of her. Not being able to keep herself going, she stumbled and started to limb for a few steps before she crumpled onto a knee, grasping onto her right leg in a death grip as she felt pain shoot up it. She sucked in a breath as tears stung her eyes, both from her leg and her shins that had grazed against the pavement of the sidewalk.

This was something that had started ever since she had gashed herself on the mammoth tusk, her leg giving off seldom jolts of seldom minor irritating pains, or the more common intense agony like now. It hadn't helped that the tusk had almost severed her superficial peroneal, one of the more major nerves in her foreleg. Her head spun in dizziness from both the sudden stop in exercise and the pain. She took shallow, sluggish mouthfuls of air as the intense burning tremors that licked up and down her post-injured leg.

Mr. Wilde ran ahead for almost six extra meters before he noticed that he was running on his own. Whirling around on his paws he looked behind him, seeing that his bunny was hunched over, evidently in pain. His ears lowered back as he saw the expression on her face, his soon falling as well, hating seeing her like this, knowing how much pain she was going through at the second. Jogging over to her took only a few moments, already well acquainted with what was going on since it wasn't the first, nor probably the last time it would happen.

When he got over to her he crouched down so he was level with her. "You going to be alright?" he asked, resting a hand on her neck as he scratched the back of her head. She nodded with a grimace full of pain, her teeth grinding together in a growl, wanting to let out a string of curses, but she detested using foul language unless it was absolutely necessary, so this would make do.

"Come on, you need to sit down for a bit," he scooped her up in his arms bridle style, not having as many problems carrying her like this since he had become stronger. It wasn't like at the museum, that along with him not having to carry a heavy steel container. As he took them somewhere to sit down, he gave her a quick nuzzle, seeing as no one was around and he just couldn't resist. Mainly it was to distract her, which it did, at least for a couple of seconds.

"Don't," she hissed, as her leg sent another wave of pain.

"Grumpy Bunny, this morning aren't we," he teased, trying to distract her as he sat her down on an empty bench outside one of the parks. He sat next to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder, they weren't running and it was cold this morning, seeing as they were in the chillier months of the year.

"Thanks," she mumbled as she slumped against him, burying herself in the warmth that his fur provided.

Hers was more than enough to keep out the cold, but she herself couldn't resist the kindness her male was offering. Not soon after she wrapped her arms around his middle, nuzzling him without recollection that she had. The tod brushed away the moment to tease her about it, for now at least. All that he wanted for that moment was for her to relax.

Not that he knew, but the ache in her leg had gone away a few minutes ago, as he had been carrying her, except she didn't feel like she could put any weight on it just yet. That and this was also the perfect excuse to snuggle into her fox's warm natural-coat, the bushy thick red fur mingling with her softer, downy, gray fur.

"Oh, now whose being overly affectionate," he accused, with a sly grin as he felt her cuddle more into him, all the same he tightened the arm he had around her, keeping his eyes forward, catching his breath from their jog.

"It's just because you're warm," her voice muffled against his side.

"I'm glad to have been of service, officer," he tittered, finally looking down at her, imagining how absurd they more than likely looked at the moment.

His attention turned to her legs, which were resting on the cool wood of the bench. He looked at the slender, toned pair, which were exposed; since the both of them were wearing gym shorts along with matching black t-shirts with police written in white capitals on the front. Focusing on her right one, he saw the scar which was faintly hidden by the fur since it had grown back. He rested his paw against it, his thumb running over the bodily-reminder lightly, knowing very well that she was addicted to his touch. Nevertheless, she would seemingly always play hard to get. Even to this day, after being married to her for what was almost two years now. He didn't truly understand why she did this, yet he was always up for a challenge especially wherever she was involved.

"Hmmmm," she hummed, breaking his gaze from her lovely leg as he felt her relax against him completely.

"How's your leg feeling," he breathed, his smokers breath coming through both his nose and muzzle.

"It's better," she flexed it along with rolling her paw, demonstrating that it wasn't hurting. The fox smirked, enjoying what he saw as more salacious ideas came to his mind. He passed up the opportunity to bring up his usual flirty or roguish suggestive remarks, seeing as he already had his paw on her, a gain he didn't want to lose right away.

"Good," he smiled warmly, seeing that she was still her usual optimistic self. He added in a curious voice, "Do you want to keep going, or…"

"No, we've run enough today," she reluctantly pulled away from him, resting the back of her head against his arm. If things were different with how the general public viewed their relationship, she would be more open and less nervous with being openly demonstrative of her emotions towards her husband. Nevertheless things weren't, so this was all she was comfortable with showing.

"That's fine by me, means I can get a moment or two to actually enjoy the view," he laid back, looking up at the morning sky, seeing it darkening to shades of purple and dark blue as the sun begun to rise.

"Sly Fox," she poked him in the side, close to where his scar of his wound was, seeing as it had healed up properly three weeks ago, leaving the scar tissue and the area around it ticklish. He shirked away a bit, slapping her paw with his own playfully, giving her a challenging glare.

"Ahhh…..you thought I meant you, don't flatter yourself, I meant the morning stars and planets before they head off to sleep," he nodded his nose towards Jupiter, whose ethereal radiance was starting to dim.

"You're mean," she crossed her arms and gave a mock-pout, her nose ceaselessly twitching as always. She let her lower lip quiver, as though she was about to cry.

"You know that I love you, that and I think you're the most extraordinarily gorgeous animal in Zootopia," he growled, pressing his nose against hers before connecting their lips. He grinned a little, feeling her cool, firm, yet at the same time soft and yielding lips against his own. Unknowingly to her, he had pulled her back over to him, so they were closer together again. One of her smaller paws was pressed against his chest, trying to push herself away, but it was halfhearted and soon withered.

Mrs. Wilde was able to pull her lips away from her husband's to gasp, "Nick, we shouldn't...what if someone sees," that was all she could say before his lips found hers again, rekindling another muzzle lock.

"Then they can mind their own business," he mumbled against her as he refused to pull away. "God, you taste good," he gave a soft moan, as he felt the same paw that tried to stop their fervent act, now grasping onto his chest fur through his shirt.

"No…..." she pushed away more forcefully this time,"…..we can't. I'm sorry but we just can't out here," moving away from him, but not out of his hold.

"What does it matter if they find out," he grouched, these last two years of hiding their relationship having started to become old. Not just for him, he knew that she hated it just as much as him. "Judy why do you care so much, you're the one whose always preaching to animals to be who they want, to do what they want in their lives, no matter what anyone else says."

"I don't care what they think Nick, I just don't want my parents to find out about us like this, I want us to tell them face to face, not because of the news or media," she said sourly, knowing that he was right along with his mood rubbing off on her.

Letting out a tired sigh, "Fine…I'll stop, Whiskers," he relented, knowing that she was right.

"I….." she stopped and shook her head, looking off down the street in front of them, she wanted to apologize, yet say so much more.

"Sometime's…..I wonder if it's us or the world that isn't thinking clearly," he grumbled, getting out what she been thinking.

"What'd you mean?"

"Well….."he rolled his paw as though to beckon the words forth, "...…look at us. A vicious fox and a little emotional bunny like you," she nodded, listening to him with all ears, seeing as they were perked up with curiosity. "I can see why animals see this as wrong…...maybe-maybe it is," he felt her clutch his upper arm tightly, her claws digging into his bicep. He looked over at her with an emotionless expression, her scared one meeting him.

"Nicholas?" her voice cracked, sounding weak and very vulnerable.

"Hey, what do they know, right?" he smiled at her warmly, his free paw taking one of hers and squeezing it. "They're all in the last century still." He gave a soft, forced laugh before,"As I see it, love hasn't ever been a solid substance, it's fluid and free, a lot like the oceans. Try as we may, we can't control it." She visibly calmed, "I know that I love you, and there's nothing they can do to change that. Freaks, abnormal and repulsive, all that aside…it doesn't matter to me, Carrots," he let go of her and stood up, his paws meeting the cool pavement as his toes flexed, growing accustomed to it again.

"Let's go home," he offered her his ring-paw which she took without hesitation. "Also," he added with a smirk, "no more serious talks like this for a bit, let's just concentrate on us."

"You're such an idiot sometimes, Dumb Fox," she smiled.

"At least I'm not a Dumb Bunny," he shot back as he walked with her, neither of them in any hurry to get back to their apartment.

They talked about small things on the way back, such as what was going on at work, which officer was dating who or had a crush on someone. Along with who was getting on the chiefs nerves lately since all the officer's of the First Precinct decided that someone had to do it for the week, mainly for entertainment and for regular diversity within their department. When these topics ran short the male officer asked his partner about what she and Fru Fru had been up to, seeing as they still spent time together, either with the shrews child or just together when she needed an afternoon to herself.

It was the usual girl stuff, mixed in with the mischief they sometimes got themselves into. The two were great friends, or so the tod had picked up on after three years. He would usually tag along, either to spend time with the crime lord himself to look after his grandchild, or with his wife and her friend. All of this of course was under the table, so as not to ruin their public figure, in addition to that it would jeopardize the ZPDs image, a lot. Of course, the cape buffalo himself had found out, since he always seemed to find out about anything about anyone it seemed.

Nick had convinced their boss, somehow or another, to actually use the arctic shrew as a resource of sorts. Sure Mr. Big was a ruthless and cold-killing thug but ever since Judy had saved his daughter, he was very forthcoming on information on criminal activity that they didn't know about. Something the fox had been able to get the intimidating prey to see, appealing to his realistic and resourceful side. With reluctance on both his and the mayors side, seeing as he answered to Lionheart, they agreed to this arrangement as long as certain conditions were met. No officers were to be threatened or hurt by the crime lord's associates, he was to give all and any information he knew on other crime lords along with members, lastly he was to keep this cooperation under the carpet, that and to not kill off his thorns but to turn them into the authorities seeing that they could use them.

With things the way they were now, both the first rabbit and fox officers could visit their considered extended family. Nick would often just tag along to see his old boss, collect information and the such from him, but mainly to see his godchild, though only Judy knew that. Fru Fru was trustworthy, yet she had a loose muzzle and gossiped like no one's business; unlike other animals though, her stories were all a hundred percent true. Why make it up and guess when the truth was far more juicer, was what she had told them. This being the case they hadn't told her, or her father. Once they told Judy's parents…well they would get to that.

With having a godchild, the vulpine found it good practice to babysit when he could with Judy, seeing as it would be helpful in the future. That and Nick loved spending time with children, though their crying and shrieks would cause him to get a headache after a time. This was normal though, everyone suffered almost the same when it came to children, besides the headaches, he would often become more drained as the hours passed, eventually till he passed out on the sofa, often with the little shrew asleep against his chest. Judy had snapped a picture and saved it on her phone, finding it too adorable not to, he denied it aloud but hid a smirk, seeing what she meant.

Though this was something he pictured doing with their children when they finally adopted, something he looked forward to doing one day. Not having their little ones necessarily fall asleep on him, but being a parent in general. Raising them to be adults in a caring and loving environment alongside his partner both on the force and in life. Reading to them before they fell asleep, the late night tuck-in's without their kits knowing they had. Even the more stressful teenage years and all the challenges those would bring he was looking forward to. He was looking forward to all of it, especially having his own little army who he could send against Judy when he felt like it.

What he was truly anxious about was making Judy a mother, knowing that this was one of her dreams that he shared. Something he had un-inevitability snatched away from her without insidious intent behind it. Whichever way it was perceived he had been the core reason to why she could no longer have children, in the conventional sense. He could not though hold all of the blame, she owned half of it, but they were both at fault, seeing that they both had chosen to be together, no matter the complications further down the road. Adoption was something that he saw as a way to fulfill both their wants to be parents and to have children, not to right a wrong but because he loved his wife and knew that this was important to her, along with his own selfish desires as well.

A question came up in their conversation asked by the rabbit who wanted to know her partner's honest opinion. So she asked in an undertone but enough so he could hear, seeing as more and more animals were starting to show up on the streets now.

"You don't think we're the only ones in Zootopia do you?"

"Only what, only fox and bunny officers, well yes I do. The only partner's who are opposite in every way, species, abilities, backgrounds, views and eyes, then yes very much so. The two most singularly attractive and award winning smiles at the station, no….I hold those to myself thank you. Well I will admit you have the looks, but I definitely got the smile," flashing her his trademark smirk, making her chuckle and look away from him.

"That's not what I meant, Crickets," that name was groan worthy, seeing as she had come up with it a few weeks before he was shot.

"I'm not the only one who eats crickets, you definitely were too," he tried to swat her in the back but his aim was a bit off, making her blush furiously seeing as some zebras looked at them with wide eyes. Nick stared right back at them, some turning to break eye contact with him as they passed each other. He glared at the back of one of their heads for a moment more before looking back at his friend. "Was a tad off with that one…..yeah," he scratched the back of his head, knowing that he had embarrassed her.

"It's fine, but back to what I asked," she had shaken the ordeal off already.

"No, I know we're not," he walked closer to her as the streets had become busier, not wanting to get separated from her or get turned around in the big city. One of the reasons why they did their runs in the morning, it was safer, less animals were awake, and lastly they had more energy than they would in the afternoon.

"…As I was saying," he continued, as he weaved around smaller and larger animals passing them. "everyone in Zootopia knows, thanks to the bloodsucking media," he looked up at one of the skyscrapers' mega-screens, as it gave news reports on the weather and such. "I, Nick Piberius Wilde, the villainous-vulpine, described as vividly, vile-vermin with venomous-vicious vocal vocabulary that vowes to vanquish such verified vulgar vagabonds who vainly value vilification of victims, yet upon vice of vigil of vengeful veil that veers viable voicing of validation of violence shall vex such viable votives, as such a male exists before you, you may call me V….."

"I can't believe you love that movie, and made that up for yourself," her smile wide from hearing him being able to quote his own little saying of who he was. Yet with the tirades he was pulling off lately, she grew a little impatient, wanting a straight answer before he made her forget, "Nick, please, what do you think."

"Judith, I know we're not," he rolled his eyes as he had to take a hold of wrist so he didn't lose her as more animals passed them by, and seeing as the last group had shoved in-between them. "In all the years I've lived here I've seen loads of couples from all specie. For example, that wolf who was a booth across from ours. Well as we were leaving I saw his mate sit down at his table, a coyote I believe," he brought up, having remembered the male next to them at the dinner last Tuesday when they had gone out for lunch. "Even our little Lance," mocking the kids size compared to some of the other wolves at their station, him being a foot shorter than the rest of them. "He's got an eye out for that female wolverine….what was her name again…. Shasha….or Sera….Sarah, whatever her name is. Once she walks into the room he's gone…I mean it's worse talking to Flash when he's daydreaming," both of them understanding what he meant. "That kids' in la-la land, I can't snap him out. So no, I don't think we're the only ones here…but unlike any of them we're not as inconspicuous, we're practically the faces of the ZPD."

The rabbit nodded, seeing what he meant since him being shot had brought an uproar on the news by the media for the last week of September and a little of the first in November. That had been almost nine weeks ago. It seemed so strange that only two months had passed since he was shot, yet it felt like years ago.

She reigned in her thoughts on how slow life seemed to be at the moment as her husband was still talking, "…..hello media and an uproar of anti-interspecies along with the whole prey and predators can't be together like we are," he grumbled the last bit, his sly, charming voice having become down and serious once again that morning, having grown quite tired of having to talk about this certain topic and all the others surrounding it.

"I had no idea that there were other's in our office," she said softly, as she thought about Lance, someone she had worked for in the field for a few months now. Everything that the fox had told her, made her realize just how unconnected she sometimes was at the station, just on duty in general.

"Well…..you are quite focused on your work, like an officer should be."

"But to miss that….I should have noticed it without you telling me," she pinched the bridge of her smaller muzzle, feeling like a complete idiot.

"Don't beat yourself up," he tried to ease her mind. "The only one there whose noticed us is our desk-cat," he reassured, just before he bumped into a ram both of them stumbling back a few steps.

"WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING YOU FUCKING PELT!" the obviously older male blared at him angrily. His gruff, dry voice was a good indicator, along with fur having grayed in some places.

With ages put aside, this racist remark had caught attention from some of the animals attention around them. Most animal's as they always seemed to do, ignored it, not having the time nor the desire to get involved, no one ever did. Flashes of memories of him when he was younger came to the forefront of his mind. All of him being ganged up on by other animals, to be bullied or mugged, while everyone else either walked by, or just watched, not having the decency to pull them off or call the police. He snapped the cord to these thoughts, there was never a time or place to dwell on them.

"Sorry sir, I wasn't paying attention, now if you excuse m…" he felt a hoof being jabbed into his chest rather roughly, seeing as he felt the tips dig through his shirt, making him back peddle a couple more steps to get away from the other male.

"No, you listen to me, I am sick of your kind shoving and pushing past prey like me, thinking that you're so much better than every other animal," he growled, his hoof having turned into a clenched fist.

"I just bumped into you…let it go," the officer said, his paw having gone down to where his utility belt normally was. He was off duty so as thus it was home, leaving him a little defenseless, he did have his paws so he could always use those.

"Why should I let this go, if I keep letting it go then it's just going to keep happening….."

"Nick let's just go," the fox felt the rabbit's smaller paw grab hold of his and tug him with her. She didn't want to get in an altercation with an animal today, or she would been giving a fine to the male for assault and aggressive contact on an officer.

The tod shot back to the ram, "Next time, I would consider not mouthing off to an officer, I won't be so lenient next time," that was all he said, holding back any other snarky remarks.

The two of them continued on navigating their way back to their apartment. After a few minutes of the little altercation had occurred, Nick leaned his muzzle to her ear, muttering, "Thanks, Carrot."

"Anytime, Sweetheart," her paw squeezing his as they had interlocked them, both so they didn't lose one another in the busy streets, that along with it being one of the small signs of affection they could display without too much suspicion.

 _Sometime that very afternoon….._

The two animal's had their gaze on the checkered gray and brown board, one waiting for the other to make a move. This game having been going on for a good solid two hours by this point, yet the fox hadn't moved a piece on his board for the last ten minutes. The only sign that he was still interested in the game was him mouthing to himself of his walkthrough that he had obviously created, thinking through his movements critically. This was only because the rabbit had taken one of each of his knights, bishops, rooks, that along with a pawful of pawns. The mentioned ebony pieces all having been clustered together as her little trophies.

The fox hadn't done to bad himself, having taken her queen earlier on, along with both her knights, a rook and at least four pawns himself, the smaller collection of ivory pieces on the other side of their wooden coffee table, something he had brought from his old apartment. Even with him having put a lot of time on his plan of attack she could obviously see him starting to break, not doing too good with pressure when he knew that he was losing. He wouldn't voice it, but it was obvious from the frustration in his eyes and the way his right ear flickered irritably every couple of seconds.

Not wanting to distract her partner, she took a sip of the V8 fruit juice she had poured for herself a little while ago. Hers being carrot and ginger, while the male across from her had the pomegranate blueberry, anything with berries and he would eat or drink it, especially if they were blueberries. He was drawn to them like a bee was to nectar, often times she would have to hide the fresh berries at the back of the fridge behind some other stuff so he didn't just gorge himself on them.

Speaking of which, her attention focused on the bowl that she had set out earlier, that was full of different assorted vegetables and fruits, seeing that they hadn't been touched as much as she had expected. Seems that the male was trying to make up for losing twister earlier, which was surprising since he had the height advantage, and a better than average flexibility than most other animals, but seemingly not enough to beat her. He wasn't a sore loser, but he liked to have things more settled down to a draw between them. This competitive nature of his, that she also shared would range from everything they did even at work. If she, for example, handed out twenty fines for animal's speeding then he would try to match that himself if he was the one pulling over speedsters. Kept their job interesting, along with pushing each other to do more than they were required to do on their shifts.

"No…..can't move that pawn to E5, would leave a gap for her bishop which would take… my last…. knight," he muttered to himself underneath his breath. Her ears having perked up a little from their resting position she looked at the such mentioned pawn and then the rest of the board, seeing what he meant. He had gotten himself in quite a fix, not having to really pay attention to the board, seeing that this was the fifteenth time she had looked over the map like board, seeing as it was a map of Zootopia and some of the surrounding countries and cities…..at least back in medieval times. As such, she hadn't been paying it much attention, letting her thoughts wonder, and letting the stress of their work week melt away.

"Alright, screw it!" the male finally exclaimed exasperated, breaking the other animal out of her thoughts. "Knight to F3," he moved it across and down from H4, seeing as he had it there for some reason or another, now though it had completely messed up the rabbits plan, seeing as it was blocking her rook from moving to his side of the board.

"Honestly, it's like you've never played this game before," she gazed over the board, already having thought through what to do since a good quarter way through the game, having sacrificed certain pieces and positions so her plan could come to work. "Bishop to F3," she snatched the knight from the board, tapping it against her bottom lip, with a smirk.

"Well, I have, quite a lot," he took her bishop with his remaining rook, scooping it up and placing it with the others, being gentle with the pieces and keeping his claws away from them, the entire board having been given to him by his grandfather for his tenth birthday, not too long afterwards he had died from a heart attack in his sleep. This was one of the few things he had of his mother's father, besides an old silver pocket watch.

"Hmmm, well you're losing," she took the rook with her last knight, not having moved it for four to five turns, as such it had gone unnoticed since it was guarded by a pawn, and losing an important piece to a pawn was embarrassing.

"So are you," he smirked, taking her last knight with a bishop of his own, he added with glee, "I must say my dear, it appears you are in check," he watched her with his lazy expression, his eyes watching her contently.

"Well that's no….oh," she mumbled seeing as his queen, along with his remaining rook and bishop made it impossible for her to move.

"I would have to say check mate," he said, snatching a ripe tomato and taking a bite out of it, sucking the juices noisily before it dribbled down his chin and followed the creamy fur of his neck. It was also to get on her nerves since she hated it when he slurped drinks or food too much. She gave him a halfhearted kicked underneath the table, making him chuckle, and nearly spit out the fruit. "Come on, I'm eating," he struggled to say with food in his mouth as he chuckled with a grin.

"Then don't be such a slob," she sat up on her knees and started to carefully removed the remaining pieces form the board and place them in the felt casings made for them, as well as putting the board away, her husband helping as he put his food on a paper towel so it didn't stain the wood.

"Good game," he wiggled an eyebrow at her, as she looked back up at him, making her grin herself.

"You're too slow," she teased snobbishly.

"I thought you liked it slow," he said offhandedly as he inspected the ebony kind, seeing that the lions crown had a crack forming. He, would have to take a few of the pieces into someone who could polish and fix them up, seeing as they were an expensive set and from three and a half centuries ago, having been passed down quite a few generations.

"Hmmmm, not exactly," she murmured back, catching onto what he was talking about quickly, not having been the first time.

"Make up your mind, Carrots," he ruffled the fur atop her head as he had gotten up and took the board back to the self where there other games were.

"You know it depends on how I'm feeling," she got up from the blue fluffy carpet, grabbing the snack bowl before slumping down on the couch, taking a carrot and munching it down.

"Right….." he the mumbled, "though I have to do all the work," a smile clear in his voice.

"Heard that."

"I know, Mrs. Radar Ears," he had walked back over and sat next to her, wrapping an arm around her waist, his tail resting in his lap, having come around his left side so he didn't sit on it.

"Rude Tod," she mumbled, taking out a strawberry, her personal favorite fruit.

"Hmmmpphh," he sighed as he rested his paws on the coffee table. He took a few raspberries from the bowl, having finished the tomato. He flicked them up into the air with accuracy and let them land in his muzzle, chewing them a bit before plopping the next one.

It fell to a silence for a short time after, both of them just munching on their afternoon nibbles, neither of them planning on making anything for dinner, having agreed to order a pizza, seeing as they hadn't had one for a couple of months. As such, they were taking the rest of their day off easily, only having done a few things for work, like stripping down both their tranq-guns and tasers, giving them a good cleaning along with checking their components to insure they didn't need replacing. They had also ironed and given their uniforms thorough washes and ironed the creases out of them.

Besides this, their morning run and other habitual workouts it had been a relatively normal day off for the two of them. They had some plans for tomorrow, but that was just a picnic if the weather stayed the way it was, not that it was precisely warm in the afternoons but it hadn't been the usual winter temperatures for the last couple of days. It had nothing to do with the artificial environments, but just the weather itself. Enough so that they were planning an afternoon outside, someplace where they could possibly be alone for a few hours, not for any particular reasons besides that they weren't able to get away from the city for all that long seeing where they lived along with their respective line of work.

The fox had plans for that night for them, but that just didn't require them to leave their apartment, mainly their bedroom. They didn't get to mate often seeing as most nights they were drained from work, it was also because Judy being a rabbit like many other animals didn't go into a estrus cycle. An embarrassing conversation for the both of them, but if she was with another rabbit, she could have children whenever, she didn't have to rely on the time of year. As such, there was no other drive but pure passion and lust that drove her to mate with him, something that had worked out well for them. In any case they might or might not get more spirited later, it was always spontaneous, never planned or thought out, it just happened.

The fox didn't wish to linger on thoughts of what could possibly come, thus he steered himself onto another topic. One that stood out amongst the others was the trial coming up for the teen that had shot him. Bogo had informed him yesterday afternoon when he was on break and chatting to Clawhauser that the trial would be coming up in two weeks, the earliest the federal courts could get to it since they had been busy with other cases to handle. He was no longer anxious about it, he just couldn't wait to get it over and done with, to put it all behind him. Hopefully this would also shut the media up as well, as this would be end of his incident, seeing that it would fade away to just old unimportant news, and that was alright with him.

With the reassurance that in two weeks time, his shooting would be a distant memory of the past he turned his head a little so he could look down at his wife.

"So Christmas was alright with your family?" they had decided for that year they would spend time with their own families, his though being awkward, seeing that his mother had been out of town, but he didn't tell his wife that. She would feel guilty and annoyed that he hadn't told her, knowing her she would have told her parents that he would be coming along, but he didn't want to intrude on the time she got to have with her siblings and parents.

"It was alright, it's pretty chaotic with so many brothers and sister, along with Dad being his usual crazy self," she smiled, remembering all the fun she had being at her family farm with them. "Everything alright here by yourself?" she turned the question around.

"I….I-what gave that away," he mumbled, somewhat dumfounded she had found out.

"I just did," she smirked, but her amethyst hues held a glimmer of irritation. "Why didn't you tell me," she asked gently, seeing that he looked a bit down, which he was.

Not that she knew, but he had never spent a Christmas alone, it was either with a friend, or had been with his mother after they had reconciled when he had reached twenty-three, yet it seemed she was still upset with him since their latest bout. The week he had spent at their apartment had been dull, and he couldn't find it in him to do much more than check out furbook, do some selifes, also just binge watch some movies he hadn't seen for a very long time. Along with tiding the house to every last nook and crevice. There was also his three day hike out to the mountain ranges surrounding Zootopia to have time to think on matters. That had basically been it besides waiting for his wife to come home.

"I wanted you to spend time with your family, it would have felt odd if I was there anyways," he at last murmured, closing his eyes as he proceeded to rest his head against the back of the couch.

"You're complicated sometimes, you know that," she ran her decently sharp claws through the fur of his forearm, not wanting to make a big deal out of this. "But you're family too, you're my family."

"I know," his throat oddly enough tightened, but he swallowed down the sudden stab of emotions, before, "Next year I'll go with you if my mother and I….are still not talking," he missed her, he missed their little weekly chats across text, he missed her always inviting him over for dinner every few weeks. He hadn't counted on her words hitting him as hard as they had, he blinked away the tears that had started to sting his emerald orbs, hiding the pain away with his usual façade, he forced a small laugh, "…that and if your parent's take the news any better."

"Hopefully they will," she kissed his purple nose when he returned his attention back to her, a weak smile creasing at the corners of his muzzle. The bunny had noticed how his eyes had gone glossy, but knew he didn't want to talk about it, he would eventually bring it up when he was ready. She already knew it was about his second, it could have been his third falling out with his mother, but this one had struck harder because of her confessions of how proud she was of him, something all children wanted to hear from their parents, even if they didn't know it.

"Either way, next time just tell me, it hurt knowing you were home all alone on Christmas," he heard the genuine sadness in her voice, showing him once again how much his mate truly loved him and thought about him.

"I promise," he breathed, pressing his forehead against her smaller one, though this didn't lessen the intimacy of these moments they shared.

When they pulled away, the female noticed that he was actually crying, tears running down his face, his breathing uneven and shaky. He wiped his nose which had become damp, along with his eyes with the back of his forearm, avoiding her gaze, not wanting to see what she thought of him. It was nothing bad, he knew this well enough, knowing that he would have to do something truly underhanded and immoral for her to ever think something bad of him. He just didn't want her to witness him being this vulnerable, opening up was difficult enough for him, breaking down and becoming a blubbering mess was not something he ever wanted any animal to witness, his wife included.

He himself didn't know why he was crying, it had just slipped out, maybe it was the real realization that Judy truly loved him, putting aside any little doubt he may have held in the deepest recesses of his heart. It could have been because of his mother, or more than likely it was just all the emotions that he had concealed over the last few months since and a bit before the shooting had finally burst free from their metaphorical prison. He didn't know if they were of relief or grief, maybe a bit of both since he wanted to sob but the tight lump in his throat had come back, making it difficult to even breathe.

Mrs. Wilde was a little surprised but more concerned, not knowing if they were tears of joy or of grief. She sat up on her knees, so she could better wrap her smaller arms around her husband's neck, persuading him to rest his larger cranium on her upper chest, something that she had learned in school and from talking to her mother was that a mate's or parent's heartbeat often soothed their loved ones. Nick was no different and he soon stopped shaking, but the tears still flowed, for reasons neither of them knew.

"Hey, hey," she stroked where the fur of his nose ended to between his ears, stroking him lovingly. She cooed gently to his pinned down ears, "Everything's going to be okay Nicky, let it out if you need to," he closed his deep emerald pools, an act of defiance that she knew all too well. "Stop letting this consume you," she tried to sway, knowing how painful it was to put these emotions to the side, to hide them. Having hurt Nick with her little speech and killing the small amount of trust and friendship they had formed had killed her inside, seeing as Nick was the first true animal to have helped her on her case. Not just because she had hustled him, but deep down he had actually cared.

"No…..I don't want to," he muffled into her neck, having turned to better face her, his muzzle buried against the crook of her neck and a bit down her back from how long his muzzle was, his arms were wrapped around her in a tight uncomfortable hug, one that she didn't pull away from. She scratched the back of his head, attempting her best at trying to help him.

"What's going on with you," her emotions making her eyes also sting from tears, but somehow she gained a hold of them, or they would both be in a rut for a while, right now he needed her.

"Just life's…..be-been so awful to me….yet wi-with everything….going s-so fuc-fricking wrong…..you've been there," he sniffled and sobbed a little, his voice full of so much tension it was a miracle he could speak. He whispered miserably, "You're…..the only anim-animal whose been there for me when I need….someone…..my beautiful angel," something he hadn't called her before, but she didn't think too much on it.

The rabbit honestly didn't know how to respond to this, so she did only what she knew and that was to hug him closer, and kiss the side of his face, saying with every fiber of her being, "It's because I love you, because you're my friend and mate before anything else…I'll always be here for you." She felt him tighten then slacken against her, some of his taut muscles relaxing in his back. The only words that left his mouth were, "I love you so much Judy, I always will."

This was the last thing said between them for the next half an hour, where the rabbit found herself laying against a pillow, with a sleeping fox in her between her legs, his head resting on her lap and stomach, arms encircling her waist weakly, as he slept dreamlessly. His light breathing the only signs that he had calmed down, and was truly asleep, not playing around with a joke of some sort.

Judy, ran her fingers through his muzzle, with a warm smile as she watched her friend. Husband. Mate. Sleep contently against her, the only signs of what had transpired were the dull, white streaks from his tears, the salt having crystallized in his fur. Along with the very seldom sniffle as he dozed on, with her trapped where she was. It was useless to try and move, she would wake him up in addition she couldn't, he was too heavy to escape from, easily. Not that this was uncomfortable, but the option was usually welcomed, for once though she didn't care.

"You foxes, so emotional," she leaned a bit forward and planted a tender kiss on his forehead, before she leant back and closed her eyes, if she couldn't escape, might as well join him for an afternoon nap. "I love you too," she purred, not having said it before he had fallen asleep.

 **HI: Hey all, I'm back from internet and document problems, haha, XD. No but in all honesty here's why this chapter took six days to publish, first off we're having some power outages out where I live, making the time I usually reserve for this fanfiction limited to conserve power, then this document got a bit corrupted and chunks fo the chapter were missing. Then there was the fact that literally, two days actually got away from me, I mean I have no recollection of them at all, I must have been extremely tired or just out of it, I mean really interesting six days, lol. Alright but I hope you enjoyed this mild, and tender chapter between Judy and Nick, my favorite animated couple, who I have shipped, if you hadn't figured that out, I can't help you. Anyways, I really liked doing this chapter because it went a bit more into Judy and Nick's lives together, and how much they truly depend on the other. For those of you who didn't understand why Judy collapsed, it's due to the nerve in her leg having been damaged when she basically got it sliced by a mammoth tusk near the end of the movie. Nerves as many of us or maybe all of us know don't heal normally, like the rest of our bodies, they can take years or just repair to the best they can, but leave permanent reminders.**

 **Couple more things. I realized that I promised every three days, but let's keep that promise but keep expectations to four to five at best, three in the least, four at best, five to the max, yeah, numbers, :/ . Either way, updates I will try to keep to a more general update period, alright? Alright! Glad we could distinguish that. Just a couple more fun facts. If your reading closely I put in little subtle back story that you can piece together. This being an interesting back story that I did with our favorite couple. Nick moved in with Judy after he graduated the academy, they weren't actually a couple yet, just really close and good friends, and they actually shared the bed almost within the first three weeks. They hold a lot of trust between one another as I've elaborated on.**

 **Lastly, sorry about the wall, but one more thing. What do you guys honestly think, I want some input from all of you on this one, because I want to know. What do you guys think, should birds, reptiles, and aquatic animals also be included in this Zootopia story. I honestly don't want birds or aquatic animals, just because it's going to make food resources quite thin in this world? What do you guys think, should they be also anthropomorphic or not, reptiles I don't mind, but the other two is where I short of draw the line. Lastly…ah no forgot, urmmmm. Let me think for a moment. Oh, right, by Joe, I've got it. Give me names, names for other metropolises, towns and the such for the world that Zootopia lives in, it's confirmed that it is on Earth, but give me names for these new places, I would love to mention them and give you guys credit for them. Should I include like America, California, Britain and the normal places like that, including Manchester, those kind of places or should I give them animal like names. Like, well this is why I'm asking you, if you got some ideas, I'll add them in or give reference to them somewhere.**

 **That's it Zootopia fans, till next time this is R.A. wishing you all a great rest of the week and a huge heartfelt thanks for 66 reviews, 150 favorites, 247 followers, and 12,250 views. You guys, all of you are to thank for this story doing so well and gaining such popularity, till next time, good night yawl, sweet dreams.**


	7. On the Stand

**_Chapter_**

 ** _VII_**

 ** _On the Stand_**

 _ **Stop being so cynical about it, all you have to do is say your bit and answer the defenses' questions honestly. Other than that it should be simple.**_ Was what Nick read in the reply from his partner.

He quickly tapped up a response. _**Easy for you to say, the trial doesn't start for another hour. So here I am, in an office with some old prosecutors. Seriously time has either stopped, or the clocks are broken. # all your fault.**_

 _ **Shouldn't your phone be off? Also you're required to be there two hours before the trial, # whiny cub alert.**_

 _ **Nah, I'm allowed to keep it on for a bit longer. Good thing to, means I can mess with you.**_ The fox took a quick selfie of himself with a forced smile. He really didn't want to be here, but it appeared that he had no choice in the matter.

A minute or two passed and he received another reply from his partner. It was just her in their office with her lovely smile, one that seemingly always brightened up his day. _**Your** **smile** **never get's old.**_

 _ **Neither does my favorite bunny's. Anyways about the trial. If I remember correctly, I don't actually have to be here, I could have chosen not to actually be present and allow the persecutors handle it.**_

 _ **The prosecutors asked for you to be there to take the stand so you could give your account of what happened, if they hadn't then you could have chosen not to, so you're halfway there, :P. Anyways you know that I'm at work, this paperwork isn't going to fill itself out.**_

 _ **Right, forgot you're on the outside, where you can actually have a life.**_

 _ **It's only one day, it'll be over before you know it.**_

 _ **You are such a delusional bunny, a fox like me in a court. Whose the criminal again, we got a low life money sucker here.**_

 _ **You'l be fine, it's not like they can charge you with anything. Anyways I have to get back to work, I got a lot to do today.**_ The rabbit tried to reassure him, but this time it wasn't working.

 _ **I…..alright, I'll catch you…sometime tonight.**_

 _ **Trust me, it's way better than doing paperwork Nick, so just see this as a learning exercise.**_

 _ **You're trying to make me jealous aren't…..**_ The tod looked up as one of the prosecutors, a badger, called his name. _**Okay, well got to go, love you loads, Carrots. Try not to get to bored without me. ;) .**_

"Sorry, Ms?" the officer asked, raising an eyebrow as he turned his phone off.

"Mrs. Underhill," she sighed exasperatedly seeing as this was the third time she had told him.

"Sorry, I'll get the hang of both of your names, don't worry," the vulpine smirked, seeing as he had already memorized their names. If there was one thing being a con-artist taught him, it was important to remember an animal's name.

"Like that'll happen," the other attorney said with a voice that resembled sand-paper going across stone. The male took a sip of his coffee. He added a few silent moments, "We just need to go over some matters still."

"Such as? I'm sure I have informed you both enough about me to make a bibliography," this being the fifth time they had asked him to recount the night of the shooting, it had become quite annoying to think about it much less discuss it in depth.

"Well, we still require some of your background. We've read the initial reports and the information that was given to us by the ZPD, but I…...that is, my associate and I, need to run through it with you," the other male grumbled, from where he was standing on the table, seeing that he was a crested porcupine, a sixth of the fox's size. This was the prosecutor who would be actually talking, Mrs. Underhill being his backup if he had to take a step out if something came up that demanded his attention.

"Why's this all of a suddenly important Mr. Thorne?" the tod asked, flattening a crease on his black tie.

"It's to see if you have any cases of psychological problems, acts of random aggressiveness, past run ins with the law, anything that could possibly give cause to turning the trial in the hands of the defense," the female answered, as she was gazing through the evidence of the incident and going through the teenage boar's file.

"Well now that you put it that way," mentally the fox cursed, seeing as his past was full of not so legally recognized trends. If these two had a copy on him, did that mean that the defense also had file? He asked warily, " I'd wager that the defense has gotten the same information as you two, right?"

"Well of course they're trying to sway the jury into believing that you are actually the cause of this…unfortunate altercation," the female gave him a weak reassuring smile, as the porcupine only shook his head with a small smirk from a question he could only place as being truly absurd .

The male who wasn't much older than the fox added on to what his partner said, "They're also trying to defend the animal under their charge, they're not going to make this easy, but hopefully the evidence provided will lean the jury into making the right decision."

"Well, not that this will help, but let's get down to it then," he sat up in his chair, no longer slouching in it.

"Right," the rodent cleared his throat, as he looked over the list once more. "When you were twelve, it is stated that you were accused by your school's staff to have stolen a car, then proceeded to joy ride, then crashed it. Now under the court of law you are to tell the truth and only the truth, so is this true?"

"No."

"Good, the simple yes or no is all you have to do, unless they ask you to explain," Mrs. Underhill explained.

"Next, in your record, it says that you were a con-artist from the age of twelve till you were twenty-seven. Is this true?"

"Yes."

"Hmmm, as a predator have you ever gone savage or shown signs of more feral instincts?"

"….Yeah."

The two attorneys eyed him seriously. "Well, that's going to be knife in the side, "Mr Thorne also mumbled under his breath,"They're definitely going to have fun with that," displeasure clear in his tone of voice.

"I was sick and delirious with a cold…...my kind can die from a simple cold or even just a random flue. I wasn't even in my right mind, I was twelve then and was living on the streets," he mumbled, not too proud that he had mauled an animal without any recollection of doing so.

"Let's pray that they miss that certain detail," the sow said, looking back through the documents more closely, seeing if they had missed anything else on either the culprit or the officer.

"It states here that you are married," Mr. Thorne pressed on, looking curiously up at the fox. "It doesn't state who you are married to…or to exactly whom?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" the fox inquired suspiciously.

"Just a comment Officer Wilde, nothing more than that, but more than likely they will bring it up. I don't know if you are or not in one, but Interspecies relationships, though accepted within today's society's laws, isn't exactly favored by its citizens. I was working on another case, where my client at the time was in one, and it caused us to almost lose the case due to the jury's favor shifting from us. I just want you to have this in mind. Also...hope they don't bring this up either," he grumbled darkly, running a paw through his sharp quills.

"Is that all, or is there more?"

"Nothing besides the usual crimes you've committed, but they're pretty small, a parking ticket here and there. Your years as a con-artist will most likely be a factor that may sway the jury to be against us if the defense convinces them that you're nothing more than a trouble making fox who is abusing his badge...Annnd that along with your tax dodging."

"This isn't going to end well," the red-furred tod sighed, as he covered his eyes with a paw, his other he used to rasp his knuckles on the redwood table.

"I haven't lost a case yet, don't think I'm going to let today be that day," Mr. Thorne reassured, already knowing that the odds were already stacked against the boar. They too had a fair amount of cards stacked against them as well, seeing the officer's records spread out before him.

"You're not a fox like me," Nick remarked dryly, giving a momentary glare at the other mammal.

"No, neither of us are, but you're also the first officer of your species," the only female in the room reassured him, seeing that he did have a point in what he was arguing. She added in a soft consoling tone, "You're also not on trial here, so there's nothing to fret about."

"I suggest you go and get yourself a coffee, or something. Clear that mind of yours and relax till we're ready," the porcupine suggested to the younger animal not even looking up from the documents that he had become engrossed in.

The reynard nodded his head, then proceeded to walk over to the other side of the room, where the coffee pot and all the other assorted drinks were. As he was waiting for the pot of dark liquid to heat up again, he fiddled with the styrofoam cup. As he continued to do this he leaned against the wall and laid his head against the unyielding stone. His thoughts were bitter and he did something that he hadn't done since he was a young teen. He prayed, but not in the sense for guidance or for reassurance from the all mighty. No, it was nothing along those lines, but more that this trial would go without a hitch.

 _Alright God, if you're even listening to a scoundrel such as myself. I'm asking you nicely for you not to screw with me here. Not that you're one to do that sort of thing._ He mocked resentfully. He took a few steadying breaths as he pondered on how to address the figure of his crumbling faith.

 _I know full well that I've deserved everything you've dished out to me. Just ask all the animal's that I've tricked and done wrong...but please, not today. I've put myself straight and I'm helping society now, trying to make it a better place for everyone, for all of your children who you claim to love so dearly. I am just asking you to not do anything, just let this go the way it should, don't mess with my life here. Being shot is enough, now allow this trial to put this teen away in prison. Please just bestow this act of kindness to me so, if not for me, then so I may continue to keep helping animal's and so I can fix all the mistakes I've made. Just do this for me, and I'll keep trying to be a better fox…...and maybe, well try to get get the small aspects of my life under control._

 _Fours hours later…_

The trial had gone by as it should, many hours having passed them all by in the relatively silent court room. Thus far the representatives of both the defense and that of the prosecution had given their opening statements, along with the plaintiff having called forth a number of witnesses. Thus far the judge had to only call for order once, and that was due to the defense attorney speaking out of turn. It had been about something or the other with how the prosecutor was specieist towards pigs. Knowing the law as well as he did Wilde knew that this exclamation was nothing more than to discredit the prosecutor by giving the jury a warped view of him, which thankfully hadn't worked.

Nick himself was presently sat down, waiting patiently for his time to give his view of what had exactly happened, but Mr. Thorne hadn't called for him yet. He had been called up to the stand earlier to give his account on that evening's altercation, but that had been it. The prosecutor in question was currently questioning the teenage boar, whose name was Richard Pigmire, or who was commonly referred to as Rick. The younger male fidgeted a lot in the stand, obviously not all too pleased with so many sets of eyes watching him. This along with the constant questions being shot at him, some more personal then others. Yet still, there were other's that were even more irrelevant, all similar in their attempts to try and get some sort of reaction out of him. The judge had over ruled three objections from the defense attorney team, who had stated that what the porcupine was asking of their client was irrelevant to the case.

The predator classed male had no qualms with how hard the prosecution was being on the other mammal, why should he? If it wasn't for the kid he wouldn't have had to spend so many weeks in agony as he recovered from his wound. That along with how he had only been targeted because of specieist prejudice for his species. This was the consequences for his actions, and if he had to spend twenty-five to fifty years behind bars so be it, maybe he would learn that crime didn't pay all that well in society.

The officer knew this was harsh of him, he understood quite well that his views were somewhat skewed towards his attacker. How could he not though? He had just been an officer making his habitual rounds as he patrolled the roads, only to pull over a kid to give him a fine for speeding. Instead all that had been given was a bullet to his gut because of speciesm. Whatever the sentencing, no matter how harsh it was for Rick, he didn't care. Whatever animal could willfully act out with such hatred towards another didn't deserve to be allowed to walk the streets. Many would agree with him, but there were animal's out there that would state that this all could have been avoided if he hadn't gone into the lifestyle he had.

This was true of course, to an extent. Yet he would argue that who honestly hadn't gotten themselves mixed into the wrong crowd once or twice in their lives. This though didn't mean that he believed that the pig should get off easy. Everyone had to learn from their mistakes, he too was seeing that he was only being kept out of jail because he was working it off as working as an officer of the law. If he was to be fired or to quit, then he would have to be sent to jail for his tax evasion, but a deal had been struck, five or so years in the ZPD for his years of dodging his taxes. It was a good punishment if one was to ask him, some would as always disagree, seeing that the law was bending the system for him. Maybe it was, but either way he had showed that he was a good citizen by helping the ZPD crack open Bellwether's schemes for Zootopia. Sure it was chance that put him in amongst the center of such a huge conspiracy, but he could have gotten out of it at any point he wanted.

Suddenly the fox's attention snapped back to what was being said as he heard a certain porcupine's voice rising a level of intensity.

"….. you attacked Officer Wilde because of his species?" a question that sounded awfully like a statement.

"No," the kid said clearly, not daring to look the male questioning him in the eye.

"Is it not also true that you had in every tense and purpose planned on killing this male because of belief that he was in fact connected to the crime lord Mr. Big?"

"No."

"If this is so, why did you attempt to murder an enforcer of the law in the first place?"

"I didn't."

"Are you suggesting that it was in fact not you who committed this crime?"

"No," the teen mumbled moodily.

"Then in your own words Mr. Pigmire, please explain in your own words why you believe you are here today?"

"I…"

"OBJECTION!" the defense representative exclaimed, the ram having stood up.

"On what cause," the judge demanded; an antelope in his late fifties, if one had to guess from his fur, and his old rusty-brown eyes.

"The prosecution is harassing my client with irrelevant inquiries," the ram was calm but his voice was loud and echoed in the otherwise quiet room.

A few moments passed as the arbitrator thought over it. Banging his gavel he exclaimed, "Overruled."

"If you could continue," Mr. Thorne pressed, having gotten an affirmative nod from the male over seeing this court.

"I…..I wasn't myself at the time…I have no recollection of my actions," the culprit stumbled trying his best to remain calm in the situation he was in.

"So you say," the prosecutor grumbled softly, his voice being projected to the entire room because of a clipped on microphone, on his suit. If this wasn't the case then no one would have heard half of anything he had said. He walked over to his partner who handed him a sheet of paper.

"It states, in your medical record….which was last updated three months ago," the male said as he skimmed over the document, "that you have no previous signs or even hints of any kind of mental illness. May I remind you that under the court of law that you are held to an oath of telling the truth," he put the slip down as he paced back and forth on the top of the pine wood table, his paw claws clacking against it dully.

"Yes, I understand."

"Then why are you lying to us Mr. Pigmire, unless you are hiding from us the truth," the short male spun on his paws, facing the younger animal, appearing emotionless except his piercing eyes. He stated, his voice deadly calm and clear, "Is there something you're not telling us? Was it in fact you who attempted to kill Mr. Wilde on September 23rd of this year sometime around 1800 on a Tuesday? If this is the case then I demand that you confess to this court that it was you wh…"

"OBJEC….."

"Overruled!" the gavel came down harder this time, a loud crack echoing in the court.

"Your honor this cann…."

"It has been sustained, if you speak out of turn or agaisnt my decision once more Mr. Herdsmen I'll have no choice but to hold you in contempt and to allow your partner to defend your client," he snapped, putting the other mammal in his place, here he was in charge, this was his domain. The pronghorn let out a tired sigh before,"Continue Mr. Thorne," he demanded with out any sign of his previous outburst.

"That will be all, your honor," the porcupine nodded respectfully before he took a seat on the smaller chair provided for him.

"At this time the defense can cross examine witnesses and bring forth to the court their evidence," the antelope let the trial proceed .

"Thank you, your honor" the ram had sat up and was now pacing in front of the podium on which the judge sat, the witness stand now empty as Mr. Pigmire had been allowed to sit back with his attorneys.

Nick looked around the room from where he was sitting next to Mrs. Underhill. It was now that he could be called up to the stand to be questioned by both the prosecution and the defense. More than likely he would be asked to go back to the chair again sooner than later. He had seen the other defense council members giving him the occasional glance only to start whispering something to their associates. If this wasn't screaming the obvious message of them planning something, then he didn't know what else would. Not wanting to draw more attention from himself from anyone in the courtroom he simply kept his eyes forward and listened in on what was being said; all the while his fingers had been drumming against the thigh of his leg underneath the table, a habit that he used to cover up another one years ago.

His ears twitched as they tuned in as they readily waited to catch his name being called to take the stand, but the Ram did quite the opposite. Curiously enough, he instead started to tell the court about Richard's background, always returning to come close and talk to the jury with a friendly attitude. It was all uninteresting garble to the fox so he tuned it out. This was nothing more than a tactic to try and sympathize with the jury to try and sway them by pulling on heartstrings. It was a classic way for the defense to try and make it seem as though their client was the victim in these kind of court proceedings. As though to blame society, childhood and other such things on why their client was the way they were. It was effective if played right but it was a difficult thing to try and do in a federal trial, seeing as there was more then enough evidence supporting that the entire ordeal was because of specieal hate, along with some very awful old facts tying him to Mr. Big's family.

The red-fox did not regard this trial having been already won in the prosecution's favor, it could still possibly go either way since it was up to the judgment of the peer's. This alone determined the final outcome. Guilty or innocent. All of it was relied on how well the legal representative argued their cases, his had done well but if there was one thing that was against them, it was him. Once his background was brought up it would more than likely be enough to change the jury's mind, something he hoped Mr. Thorne could counteract. If that wasn't enough he was a fox, the first officer of his species, but a fox none the less.

Most animal's views on them weren't all that great, rabbit's as well but at least they weren't seen like his kind were. No, instead of being deemed as cute and too small to do anything else but farming or what was deemed as sheltered and safe lines of work. His kind though were seen through a thick veil of racial hate for past grievances in history. All notorious thieves had come from them between the sixteenth and eighteen centuries. This along with also being the iconic animal for being con-artists, hustlers, drug suppliers, foreign terrorists and just ill-behaved animal's of Zootopia and other such metropolises such as Mammaltropolis, Clawlifornia's San Fran-hiss-co and Rassia's Mos-Cow.

The tod's ears shot up as he heard, "I call Officer Wilde to the stand for questioning," Mr. Herdsmen announced, having turned on his hooves to glare at him, a glimmer of something cynical in his eyes.

"You'll be alright, you're not the one on trial," the female badger reassured him once again of this fact. He stood up and gave her gave a nod, seeing as smiling right now could lead to complications.

Before he had fully settled himself into the seat the defense representative inquired,"Are you Nicholas Piberius Wilde?

"Yes," an odd question to start off with he thought.

"You are currently thirty-one years of age," he paced back forth in front of the podium, his eyes always returning to look at him.

"Yes."

"Hmmmm," the prey hummed as he stroked his chin between his fingers. He suddenly asked from what felt out of the blue. "You ran away from home when you were twelve, no?"

"Yes."

"Is it not or is it true that you left your home for being expelled?"

"It is true."

"Was this because you broke into and stole one of your teacher's car and then proceeded to joy ride it till you crashed?"

"No."

"Officer Wilde, if this is so then why does your criminal record have it as such."

"It states further in that report in my record, that I was expelled under false pretenses."

"True," the goat grumbled, moving along through the file he was skimming through."

"At the age of twelve as you have already confirmed, you ran away from home, a few days after you were expelled," he stated then, "It also states within the first couple months of you living on the streets that you mauled another animal, an officer was notified and you were sent to the hospital. Is this true?"

"Yes it is," the tod had to add something else to his yes or no answers or he was going to go insane.

"Was this the first, or and the last time that you went savage or as the report states?"

"Affirmative."

"Why did you attack this male when he was only trying to determine the cause of your odd behavior?"

"I was sick with a cold, I was delirious and I have no recollection to this day of the event. I was only told by the staff of the hospital that I had attacked anyone," Wilde explained.

"So you claim that you were not in your right mind, has this happened since then? Any further acts of aggression or acts of rage?" the ram asked, his questions starting to come out with question at an increasing consecutive rate.

"No it has not."

"Here in my hoof, I have a report that states otherwise. Here it states that you showed signs of hostility to Judith Laverne Hopps in the ZPD four years ago, during the Night Howlers case. Is this true?"

"That is correct," the officer confirmed begrudgingly.

"The cause for your aggressive behavior towards this officer?"

"I was angr….."

"Have you always had a loose hold on your emotions especially ones such as anger, animosity or even rage, Mr. Wilde?"

"No."

"Yet you have shown signs that you are quick to anger and signs of hostility, even to those who you are working with or are your friends."

"No," under other circumstances he would have growled but this wasn't the time or place.

"Then why did you act so hostile to Officer Hopps?" the ram pressed, trying to get something out of the tod.

"I was angry with her proposal that predators were possibly…were hypothetically reverting back to being savage."

"Or is it because she was a rabbit, a prey, while you a specieist predator?"

"No, I a…."

"So you acted out of anger against someone who regarded you as a friend and even asked you to become their partner?"

"Yes."

"Can the same be said with how you harassed Mr. Pigmire on the 23rd of September of this year when you pulled him over for speeding."

"No."

"Is it not true that you would often con animals and sell them false products?"

"No….I mea…."

"Can it not also be said that you are not in fact still aligned with Mr. Big?" the ram's eyes were alight with satisfaction seeing that he had caused the fox to trip up.

Wilde's eyes shot to the prosecutors who watched him carefully, not being able to give him the answers, they could only intervene when the defense went out of line, and thus far he hadn't stepped out of line.

"Mr. Wilde, answer the question."

"I am not in any way, shape, and or form connected with Mr. Big," he kept his voice level, living up to his own word of never letting them see that they got to him.

It was silent for a minute or so, the air tense as the entire room waited to see what would be asked next by Mr. Herdsmen. The goat's hooves clicked and clacked on the reflective marble tile laid floor as he paced back and forth. He would occasionally let his grayish eyes pass over the fox, before returning his attention back to the documents that he was skimming through.

He asked as he found something he believed would get a reaction out of him. "Mr. Wilde are you aware that you evaded taxes since the age of twelve, and have only been paying them off for the last four years?"

"Yes, I am."

"Was there a reason that you avoided paying off your taxes?"

"I couldn't afford them."

"Why?"

"I was paying off medical bills."

"Interesting, was it not in fact because you were keeping the rest of the money to pay for your nicotine addiction?"

"..."

"Was this the reason?"

With a scowl he reluctantly denied it with a dark, "….No!" this was something the vulpine wasn't particularly proud of. It had been a habit from when he was thirteen till he hit twenty, he lied about this. No one needed to know about his old addiction to smoking.

Again there was another drawn out pause as the lawyer paced back and forth, looking through the documents, trying again to find something that could possibly show the fox off for something he wasn't.

"Will that be all Mr. Herdsmen?" the Judge asked, as five minutes had passed by without a single question.

"No your honor, just thinking," the ram said smugly as he had found something that he could possibly use.

"Officer Wilde," he finally said with an all too gleeful tone. "From the age sixteen to twenty-five it is stated within your record that you had five different mates, all of whom you walked out on. Is this true.

"Yes," there was suddenly a lot of murmuring from the audience along with some of the jury. The officer honestly didn't understand why this was such damning evidence.

"Any particular reason as to why?"

"I never truly connected with any of them?"

"And I take it you have connected with your recent mate and wife, who you have been married to for almost….two years now?"

"Yes."

"How is it that you can be with your current wife for so long, while these past relationships only last for several months at a time? Is it because you were abusive or even in some regards cruel to those that were attached to you?"

"No," was all that the fox gritted out.

"Do you not find it odd that in your report and even on your file, which was provided by the city that your current partner isn't named. This along with their occupation, species and age not being given or suggested?"

"No, I don't find this odd."

"Is there something you wish to hide Mr. Wilde?

"Yes there is, my wife's identity is o….."

"Is this because you are in fact in an interspecies relationship?"

"Objection!" came the calm collected voice of Mr. Thorn finally.

"On what ground" the judge grumbled.

"The questioning that Mr. Herdsmen is directing to Officer Wilde has gone off topic with the case. Who Mr. Wilde's current partner, has no relevance to this case, since they were not directly involved or apart of the incident," he had stood up, his expression speaking of unfathomable boredom.

"Sustained," the antelope announced a few moments later after thinking it over. He then addressed the defense attorney in front of his podium. "Continue questioning Mr. Herdsmen but I suggest that you remain on the facts and evidence at your disposal instead of making wild assumptions of who Officer Wilde is married to, or related to."

"Yes, your Honor," the ram agreed, not truly caring because the damage had been done, he had seen some of the jury's expression change, subtly, but enough that he had swayed some of their opinions. He had only one line of questioning left.

"Officer Wilde, are you in fact a predator?"

"Yes," this question just sounded completely idiotic to the fox.

"Have you ever been ashamed of being what you are? Predator and or fox alike?"

"No, I can't say I honestly have."

"Did your prejudice for all prey alike begin after you were bullied on by your fellow local Junior Ranger Scouts?"

"Yes….it did," Nick quickly reigned in a snarl he had almost let slip.

"So this traumatic event in your early childhood had an effect on you?"

"Yes."

"So you urged on your fellow scouts into attacking you?"

"No I di..."

"Were you hostile or aggressive to them as they bullied you, did you fight back or even defend yourself."

"No," he mumbled, the events of his past flashing behind his eyes. He closed his eyes tightly as he could hear crying and screaming from his childhood self, the crack of his arm breaking. The tod kept back his tears as he reopened his eyes, his breathing was shallow and uneven. The self-sorrow was gone, now the old animosity towards prey, towards all those who had ever hurt him in such a way quickly resurfaced.

"Then why were you muzzled? Unless they fear that you would hurt them as you went savage on them? How could we blame them seeing as..."

"I was was brutally beaten, I was the fucking victim!" the fox barked angrily, his eyes flashing greener then their usual self's.

"Mr. Wilde!" the banging of the gavel pulled Nick back into the reality of everything around him. His vision started to return to normal as the reddish hues disappeared.

"Sorry your honor," he glanced at the prey who was next to him, eyeing him with both concern and with slight amounts of trepidation, one of the other officer's present had taken his tranq out out of his holster. He returned his attention back to the antelope. "It won't happen again your honor...I'm sorry," he mumbled, sitting back, having noticed for the first time that he had left deep gashes in the wood of the podium. He turned his paws over, seeing some remains of minuscule splinters. He hadn't lost his temper like that since he was twenty-three, a very long time ago.

"Continue Mr. Herdsmen," the judge proclaimed, glancing over to the fox out of the corner of his eye every so often.

"Right," the prey said, tightening his tie, having been through a bit of a scare. "Is this...is this one of the reasons...well why you became an officer, so you could lash out against prey by hiding behind a badge."

"No," the reynard's voice was a lot calmer now.

"Then why have most of the arrests you've made been prey?" the attorney let his voice rise a fraction, feeling more confident that another outburst wouldn't come. "Is it because you've been turning a blind eye to predators and the crimes they commit because you feel a comradeship with them?"

"No, it isn't," the fox spat, as he crossed a leg over his knee then crossed his arms, effectively closing himself off. His head was turned slightly so he wasn't looking directly at his interrogator.

"Care to tell the court why you became an officer, along with why your arrest rate is so high with prey?"

"I have in mind better things to say, but since you're asking so nicely," the fox sneered causing the audience and some of the jury to start murmuring to one another once again.

"SILENCE IN THE COURT!" the judge banged his gavel thrice to silence the silent uproar. He turned his attention to the officer to his left, "Officer Wilde, I ask you to refrain from insulting the legal representatives and I also ask you to keep your emotions in check, do not make me remind you again."

"Yes your honor," he said with forced respect.

"Now, please proceed in the account that Mr. Herdsmen has inquired of you."

"Yes sir," he took a few deep breaths through his nose, closing his eyes as he reigned in his running emotions. Finally he started, his voice calm as he thought with a cooler head. "My arrest rate is so much higher with prey only because ninety percent of Zootopia's population is prey. As things are in the city, this is simply coincidence. In addition the reason being why I wanted to become an officer is because I wanted to help animal's and uphold the laws of Zootopia so that I could prevent other animal's going through what I did as a child and growing up on the streets," this was half the truth. The other was so he could work alongside Judy, something he had yet to regret.

"Officer Wilde, if all that you have divulged to the court is true, then how is it that a _fox_ ," he stressed it as though the very word was threatening to make him sick,"….. _a fox_ such as yourself is an officer? How can an animal such as yourself be a part of the only handpicked precinct in the ZPD?"

"The reason I am in such great company, such as yourself Mr. Herdsmen, is because I worked hard to get where I was." The fox gave a dry laugh, as he included, "As we have all seen that ended up with your client shooting me.

"Is that all Mr. Wilde?" the attorney was seething, his tolerance for this officer being brought to its limit.

"If only it was, but alas my great exploit goes on," the red furred animal announced with a painfully hidden mischievous grin, the judge hadn't given him a reprimand yet, so he might as well get some revenge. "But to be polite I'll answer the rest of your question." He carried on, "Even with how society stereotypes my species, I had to claw my way to where I am now. This might have been even more difficult for me than any other cadet that has ever gone through the ZPA, all except our city's first rabbit officer, Judy Hopps. So this is how I am sitting before you now. It is because unlike how many animal's speculate, I did the work and time into what I love so I could be where I am today," there was soft murmuring from the audience from his comment. A few moments passed before he added with a raised eyebrow, "Is that all?"

"That will be all Officer Wilde," the judge answered, having let him have his contemptuous say, since the defense attorney had tried to bait him with specieist remarks.

"Thank you, your honor," the fox got down from the stand and padded his way back over to the prosecution table. His paws felt stiffer than usual as they grew used to the cool floor. A few minutes passed him by as the defense called up a witness to question, giving him time to think.

Before he could dwell on everything that was asked of him while on the stand, Mrs. Underhill breathed, "You handled that better than I thought you would."

"I'm always full of surprises, glad I could be of some entertainment."

"I can see why the media loves talking about you so much."

"Well just look at me, I could easily pass as a model," he said with a high opinionated tone, a small smirk on his muzzle.

She shook her head with amusement, having grown a little fond of the banter between them. "I think it's more along the lines that you say things most other animal's won't. You would have made a good politician if you weren't a cop."

"Nah, cop sounds fine, better working hours, and less people can argue with me," he smirked as he leaned back, closing his eyes as he rested them for a bit. He did not though tune out what was being said, his black outlined ears homing in on what was still being deliberated in the court.

 _Sometime pass 17:20…._

Three hours had gone by since the fox officer had been put up on the witness podium to be questioned by the defense attorney. He had been called back up once more to be questioned by Mr. Thorne, who asked questions more along the line of the better decisions in his life. Truth be told he felt much better about this case unlike how he had been stressing a great deal about it before. It was very much like how an animal felt before they had to give a speech, it was nerve racking till the exact moment till they were giving it. This was how he had felt, but they weren't out of the woods quite yet.

For the last forty minutes the jury had been sent to reach a verdict for Mr. Pigmire. The approaching hour of time that had passed had left the officer in a sense of increasing tediousness. If fifteen animal's hadn't reached a decision by the first hour, well it meant that the attorneys had done their job's well or there was still too many unknowns for them to be able to justly sentence the teen. This though didn't leave Mr. Wilde with much reassurance as it should be.

This was on the account that he had lived in Zootopia all his life, and throughout the years he had witness that any case that a fox was in, would often go against them, victim or not. A fact that he had grown accustomed to in his life, it was as ordinary as waking up for work and then going to bed with his wife in his arms. Didn't mean it was right, it was actually far from it. Though what could he do, he wasn't in a position of power to change such views that society held. He had taken the wrong paths to call out shots like that, but instead he had been given a second chance in his real life, not the what _ifs_ one.

With these thoughts in mind he came to accept that whatever happened today, whatever the verdict was, it was going to happen with or without his approval and there wasn't anything he could do about it. This was something that wasn't in his hands, it was in the judicial systems and the animal's who had been selected to make up the jury. All he could do was sit at the council table with the prosecutors and wait till the jury had returned with its consensus on what the boar's fate would be.

He leaned back in his chair, stretching his back over the head of it with a series of satisfying pops before he slouched back in it. He let out a yawn as he spoke, "Gllaaaad, I'm getting paid for missing work for this."

"Any plans Mr. Wilde?" Mr. Thorne inquired, as he screwed the lid back onto his water bottle.

"Going home, take a shower and sleeping this off like a bad hangover," he said, glancing over to the rodent lazily, his smile not present this time. "How about yourself?"

"Well, wife's out of town….so I might go catch a flick," he tidied up his papers, stacking them back into the folders orderly.

"Honestly, you male's are always so brooding," the badger said, as she chuckled softly. "My two boys are exactly the same," she held a cheerful smile, even though she was just as bored.

"Well…"

"Someone has to do it," Mr. Thorne finished the officer's statement, both of them chuckling humorously.

It was silent between them for a few minutes, the only noise in the court was the soft murmuring and whispers of the audience and the defense table as they also tried to pass them time. All that Nick did was look up at the windows that were higher up the ceiling, seeing that the natural light was coming through with yellowish-orange light as the sun started to set for the night. His attention became transfixed by the beams of light that were coming through the windows, giving the rafters of the court an otherworldly feel to them.

He let his eyes follow these random shafts of light, all of them unique in their own way, either with thin or thick, short or long. It still hadn't become old to look at, nothing in nature had. He had always felt calmed when he could look outside and see the sky in the day or night, or just feeling the soft cool breeze rustle through his fur. Maybe he just liked being outside, he didn't know. It was unimportant why he did, what mattered was that it had this affect on him.

This didn't last for long though as the female to his right asked," Does your wife know?"

The officer glanced at her with a raised eyebrow, with a tired expression. With a sigh, "About what?"

"Well…..about the other mate's that you've had?" she asked curiously.

"N-not yet," he admitted. Till now he never wanted her to find about his old entanglements, and he was sure that she never planned on bringing hers up. It wasn't because these animal's had been bad or anything, but it was just an unsaid agreement between them not to bring it up.

"Why not?"

"We've never had cause to do so….but once the media knows it'll be brought up," he mumbled, rubbing his muzzle with a paw. Softly he said, "I'll probably be bringing that up along with other things," his smoking habit might not be a big surprise to her, he had grown up on the streets, not the good one's either.

"How o…:

"Leave him alone, Sharon," Mr. Thorne stepped in with a bored voice. "He obviously doesn't want to talk about it."

"She's twenty-eight," Nick said fondly, thinking about his bunny.

"Where does she work?"

"Urmmmm, heh-heh…..welllll…let's avoid those kind of questions," Nick chuckled, scratching the bad of his head. "You might able to guess who she is if I tell you too much."

"See, doesn't want to talk about it," the other prosecutor grumbled before taking a swig of his water.

"Alright, alright," the older female relented.

"Have any kids?" the porcupine inquired, this topic having interested him a little.

"Now whose bothering him," she huffed, all three of them chuckling. They weren't close to becoming friends, just work associates trying to make light conversation.

"No…..maybe in a couple years. She wants eight, so we'll need a bigger house," he confessed this much to them.

"Hmmm," the other male hummed. He spoke in what the fox had deducted as his usual gruff voice, "My wife and I have had eight together. We still have two at home who are in their last year at high school. They can't wait to get out. Nervous though, they don't know what to do with their lives, but they'll figure it out."

"How about you?" the tod nodded towards the sow who turned to look at him.

"My husband and I have had four," she admitted, thinking about her own mate and children. "Two have left the house, the other two are staying home this summer to get summer jobs before college and to help their father with some work on the house," she said thoughtfully.

"Well, I guess I'll get to experience this dreaded teenage phase when I have my own," Nick mumbled, having heard kids were awful when teenagers. He looked at the clock above the judges head, who was talking with one of the three officers there for security measures.

"Uhhh, I'm going to die before they reach a verdict," Nick smacked his head on the table with a loud thump, having done it harder then he meant to as his vision darkened.

"It's only six o'clock Mr. Wilde," the other male commented, his eyes closed as he leaned back in the chair suited for his size.

 _I am so not letting Judy get a wink of sleep tonight._ He thought evilly, salacious ideas not even coming to mind, well not exactly. Tickling her to death wouldn't really count, he thought so anyways.

"So two foxes walk into a catholic bar an…."

"No!"

"Definitely not Mr. Wilde," both attorneys proclaimed

"Wow, tough crowd," he mumbled as he rested his head on his the forearm he had placed on the table. That was the last thing he said for a good deal of another hour.

When it was a quarter till seven the doors opened and the jury filed back in. Good thing to since Nick had found a rubber band and was planned on snapping in on one of Mr. Thorne's ears. In his defense he was getting bored and being forcefully removed from the court due to breaking proper court conduct would be better than another five minutes of this. The porcupine though would probably have a different say to that, seeing as he had gone to doodling a comic strip of sorts on some of his blank pieces of paper.

"Has the jury reached a consensus?" the arbitrator of the court demanded.

"We have your honor," a wolf in his late twenties responded.

"What is the verdict that the jury has reached then?"

The young male in the jury cleared his throat before he began with a loud slow voice so he wasn't misunderstood as well as so he wasn't asked to repeat. "We the jury on the 23rd of February of this year have reached a twelve to fifteen consensus on the male boar, commonly known as Richard Frank Pigmire. Here we have reached the verdict that he is guilty."

"Thank you, you may be seat," the buck addressed before turning his attention to the young boar. "Mr. Pigmire, you are hereby found guilty of attempted murder in the first degree….."

Nick leaned back in his chair till he was looking up at the ceiling. It was over, this case, the trial, everything about it was finally over. He didn't even care about the media making a fuss of this for the next two weeks, it was all behind him now. So caught was he in these thoughts that he almost missed the gavel being slammed back down, announcing the closing of this trial and the decided sentencing for Mr. Pigmire. It was finally over and done with.

"Thirty-five years," Mr. Thorne shook his head. "I was counting on fifteen to twenty with parole because of his age, not thirty-five to life," he gave a low whistle, before he picked up his bag, offering a paw to his associate who shook it. "Thanks for being here Sharon, couldn't have done it without you."

"No, you couldn't have," she gave him a warm smile."

"To you as well Mr. Wilde," the porcupine offered his paw to the officer who took it with his larger one.

"Glad to have helped," he said not knowing what else he could say besides that.

"I suggest you find another exit, whichever one Mr. Pigmire goes through the media will be there," the sow suggested. "Or you'll be here for another hour answering all their questions."

"I was going to do that anyways," the fox stood up and pushed his chair in before shaking the female's hand as well. "Aren't you two leaving as well?"

"No, we unfortunately have to talk with the judge, and the defense attorneys on settling the smaller matters which aren't covered in the trial," she answered, seeing as her associate had jumped down from the table to go talk to the judge on some matters.

"Lawyers, they're never the best loser's," he gave her his trademark smirk. "No offense."

"None taken, most never let it go. Now good evening Officer Wilde, I have to go now," without anything else said she turned on her paws and headed over to where she believed her fellow prosecutor had gone.

Fifteen minutes later found the fox walking to the police cruiser he shared with his partner, having called her to pick him up. She had been at the store buying the groceries they needed for the next couple of days when she had heard her phone ringing. The rabbit would have come to pick him up even if she had just gotten into the garage. Something he admired about her was that she was always happy to help another animal out, even if she had to go out of her way to do it.

The officer opened the door and got into the passenger seat before slamming it closed again. He let out a groan as his back and ass protested from sitting down so soon again. If there was one thing that was worse than paperwork at the ZPD and having to attend a trial, it was how stiff one's body became from all the hours of sitting about waiting for something to happen.

Not wanting to appear rude to his partner he took one of her gray paws and brought it up to his muzzle, giving her knuckles a delicate kiss. She took it back after slapping the side of his face playfully with a smile.

The rabbit asked with a soft tone, "How are you?" she took one of his paws, intertwining their fingers snugly together.

"I'm…okay, I think," he said, his eyes casting down at his paws on the rubber floor mat.

"It's over," she bumped his side with her shoulder playfully, trying to cheer him up.

"Yeah, now I just got to worry about my wife's father pepper spraying the crap out of me," he brought his eyes back up, looking at her lovingly.

"Don't worry I'll protect you from my dad," she laughed, rolling her eyes.

"I hope you do, or you're the one washing me off…not that I'll complain though," he squeezed their hands together, neither of them afraid anyone seeing them. Their cruiser was parked on the opposite side of the court house, in an empty street where no one was at this present moment.

"Want to go home?"

The fox thought about that for a few moments, not knowing if he wanted to just then. "I….that would be nice," he finally said. He quite honestly didn't know what to do, he couldn't think straight either, his mind feeling as though it had been reheated in a microwave from the very long day.

"Judith?" he said with a tender tone, the first time he had used it since that morning.

"Yes, Nicholas?" she asked as she started the engine back up to vehicle.

"We have something's I want to talk to you about over the next couple of days, but nothing to get your ears tied in a knot about," he said seriously but with an air of amusement, having seen her get worked up on other matters.

"Why not now?"

"I just want to spend the rest of the night with my cut dumb bunny," he grabbed the paw she swung at him, seeing as they hadn't left the street. He continued as he forced the paw open and then kissed her palm, "Alone, no work, just us and whatever other mischief we come up with at home," he leaned in and gave her forehead a serene kiss. He had let her paw go which was a mistake as she punched him in the arm hard after he pulled away.

"Dumb-Slick Nick," she said with a content smile.

"Adorable Carrots….ow, okay I'll sto…." he slinked off to the far side of his seat. "Sto…..uhhhhhhhh," he groaned. "You rabbit's and your damn strong legs," he breathed as she had taken off her seat belt to nail him in the gut.

"Stop calling me cute and adorable."

"Fine," he coughed, as breathing was both ticklish and painful for a strange reason. "You still got….."

"Finish that, and you're sleeping on the floor," she voiced and eyed him darkly, though it was all for play, or so he hoped.

"Ahhhhh, but you know that I know that you know that you love me way too much," he joked, scooting back over, but warily, seeing as her free hand was tapping the side of her belt, specifically her taser. Her other hand was on the wheel, seeing as they were now in motion as they made their way home.

Nick also mumbled, "I also keep you warm at night."

Judy's perfect amethyst spheres glanced at her mate for a fraction of a second before returning to the road. "Yes, yes I do know that. Doesn't mean I don't absolutely hate you using those words."

This bantering bickering went back and forth for the two fo the rest of the drive. Though this time instead of a case or trial to worry about, the fox now had the fact about his previous mate's to bring up. It was just another problem to solve, this one though he hoped wouldn't cause a rift between them, as this topic sometimes did for couples. He thought optimistically seeing that his bunny was always surprising him with how understanding she was towards the part of his past he revealed to her. Yet there was always a limit, and he was seriously starting to question when he would hit something that she truly would detest about him. For now he simply distracted himself with messing with her, like he usually did. At least for this moment, things were starting to become normal again.

 **HI: It's me, yes I've returned from…well let's say it was a mess. Okay So truth time. This chapter I absolutely struggled with to the max. Do you understand how difficult a court case is, I mean…..wow….just wow. The court system in any country is complex, I used three. I used some of the U.K., well two because Scotland to this time is till part of the U.K. and the U.S's. Why, well because Zootopia is based off of London and New York, so that's why, so got to mix these themes together, not stirring them. But honestly I had fun with this chapter as well, even though I wanted to just scrap it. XD. The headaches this caused, well it's over now, so let's move on guys and gals.**

 **So this chapter also took so long because It originally started off with Judy and Nick, I didn't like that, so I devoted ninety-five percent of it to the court case. I added a small piece with Judy and Nick because I love writing about these two together as much as doing them alone with supporting characters. So chunks that were originally in the chapter I have saved for the next, then chapter nine, and even further down the road with the visit to Judy's parents. So this is why it took much longer then I originally planned.**

 **Lastly, I hope you guys are still enjoying this story as much as I am writing it, I haven't felt as much joy reading your guy's comments since I first started writing for fanfiction, along with writing this story on Nick and Judy. Just reading through and reading the private messages some of you have sent, the reviews and looking at all the favorites, views and follows really makes my day, because it means that you guys are enjoying this just as much as I am. Last time I may say this for a while, but thank you guys so much, I mean this sincerely. Also I want to give special thanks to those of you who sent me reviews and PMs with Zootopia universe city name ideas.** _ **Mammaltropolis, Clawlifornia and Mos-Cow**_ **are examples of what you guys did, these weren't my ideas. Thanks to** **HEB807** **, Terry the gr8, and a Guest who may also be Terry, but I'm not quite sure. So till next time, this is R.A., signing off and hoping to all of you a good weekend and a good start of the week this Monday coming up.**


	8. All Relationships Undergo Trials

**_Chapter_**

 ** _VIII_**

 ** _All Relationships Undergo Trials_**

Two days had passed since the trial, and the sun was once again on its habitual journey across the otherwise blue sky, the exception being the snowstorm coming over the horizon. Still, much like the star's predictable cycles through the eras, today wasn't essentially any more extraordinary then the next, especially for the most well known officers in the metropolis. Both who were presently sat down in one of the booths at a local diner in Tundratown. Both of them would have appeared to be just another regular pair of patrons, that is if they weren't in their crisp blue uniforms. They were only there because they had planned for a two hour lunch break here for the last few weeks. Nick having suggested it after he had heard from a friend that this place was worth a visit, even with the food taking longer to arrive to it's tables than usual diners.

Today could be considered to be a special occasion, seemingly because two days had passed since the sentencing of the young boar. This in itself had brought with it an immense sense of relief between the two mammals. This was what the rabbit perceived at least, seeing this small lapse in their work as a time to forget about everything. A sort of remuneration for having pulled through such a trying time. Less so for herself, but what her partner had gone through the last few months hadn't been easy for him. Which meant that she had shared alongside hi in his struggles, being his mate, along with one of his closest friends.

Speaking of which, Judy looked up from the menu to seemingly get lost as she drunk in her husband's handsome visage. Today she saw that he still wasn't his usual self, the usual sparkle in his mischievous, emerald eyes seemingly absent. It was obvious that something had been troubling him for the last day or so. Come to think of it, this new mood of his had started roughly the same day the trial ended. It wasn't just this either, he had been somewhat avoiding her, not physically, because as current circumstances were that would be almost impossible. He had been evading her, emotionally.

Even with this new mysterious mood of his, their usual comfortable atmosphere was pleasant. Though she hated what had replaced the anxiety, it was almost worse if some-animal were to ask her. It honestly felt like she was with a complete stranger, one that she didn't exactly want to be near. Not that she was sick of being with her fox, but she wanted back his cocky, confident and cool headed self, not this new persona that he had adopted. To most around him, he appeared to be acting like he normally did, however, being so intimately connected to him she could tell when something was truly up with him. This was a skill any wife or husband shared with their spouse, being able to pick up on changes of behavior no matter how small or benign.

The challenge that faced her at the moment was how to bring this up. The rabbit knew well enough that this would be a sensitive matter when she brought it up. If it wasn't, he would have already told her flat out what was wrong. Confiding to one another was something that they both shared in common; thoughts, emotions, beliefs, ideals, dreams and so on were the norm of what they shared. This though had changed slightly, she could place it back to when he had been shot. She fully understood that no animal walked away without some kind of unnoticed scar from such a traumatic experience. What he had brought back from the incident was in many ways as complicated as his character. The biggest change was that he was closing off to her more, especially these last couple of days. All this along with his odd behavior of late.

An example would be just that very morning at their apartment, where he had turned off the television when the news had started to bring up information about him on the trial. He had also done this the night when they had gotten home after the sentencing, also the next day. Never having been a naïve rabbit, she had figured out that there was something he was hiding from her. It wasn't just this though, now that she truly thought on it in depth as there was nothing inconvenient diverting her focus from truly examining what was clearly stacked out in front of her.

 _How could I have let this slip by me so easily, this is stupid. He's been approaching me for days…only for us to be called in, or for something to have come up. Then him changing the station on the radio when the news was brought up. How have I've been so dumb to miss this?_ The officer looked up at the male across from her, his emerald hues not having left the menu, or so she thought, having been staring at her paws as she had been clenching them into tight fists. She was frustrated enough to punch something at that moment, she wouldn't but the urge was there.

The prey now concluded for herself that she had been lacking in the duties she believed a mate was to uphold. One of her wedding vows was to always be there for him, no matter how bad things were. Till now she had felt as though she was fulfilling her promise, but as of now she felt as though she had failed him along with herself.

"Something on your mind, Darling?" the fox inquired, his affectionate suave voice soothing to her ears. Then again maybe he had just been having an odd few days furthermore she could be over thinking things.

"I have a few things on my mind," she admitted, her ears drooping a fraction, having seen his eyes slightly narrow. "I…..please stop glaring at me," she mumbled, looking away as his scrutinizing eyes hadn't relaxed.

"Sorry, I didn't know that I was," he said as he sat up, evidently flustered as he truly didn't know he was.

"We need to talk," she let a few moments pass them by so her partner could collect himself.

"I know…but I have to tell you some things before we do," he expressed, placing the menu down, having decided on what to order, though he didn't really have an appetite.

"Is this why you've been acting so off of late?" she implored, wanting her mate to open up to her again, all so he would be his old self again, more importantly so she could help.

"It is, but….."

"Can I take your orders," a male lynx asked as he had come up to their table, having pulled out a pen along with a notebook out of his apron pocket.

"Ummmmmm," the vulpine was a little confused, having been interrupted when his thoughts were as far away from food as the Moon was to Mars.

"I'll have the cricket ranch sandwich with a salad. Also with some carrot tea please," Judy said handing the waiter the menu.

"I'll have a grilled cricket an cheese, a side of fries with some carrot tea as well, please," Nick finally answered, offering his menu as well.

"I'll be back in a bit with your drinks, your food will be ready in half an hour," the other predator left with a curt nod, leaving the two officers alone once again. The diner was rather empty at the moment for one reason or another, leaving many of the tables as well as the booths surrounding them unoccupied.

"Judy?" the tod finally said, knowing that it wouldn't be good to put this talk off with her.

"Yes," returning her attention back to her mate, having been looking out the window they were next to, seeing the crisp white snow amid the thick layers of ice of the coldest district in their city.

"How do I say this…" he scratched the back of his skull as he looked at the gray table.

"Well, it starts with your brain thinking about what to say then proceeding to make the right sounds so I can understand you," she teased, wanting to help him feel comfortable.

"I guess that's a start isn't it," he gave her a wry grin, before becoming serious again. Taking a deep steadying breath he got out, "I haven't ever told you about my past in detail have I?"

"No, you haven't. I've told you nearly everything about e over the years, but you rarely tell me anything about you," the rabbit muttered, this being a sore subject for her. She honestly was irked that her husband knew so much about her, while she only knew so little of him in comparison.

"I…I," she watched him let out a sigh, before shaking his head then gazing out the window. Placing her wedding paw on his, she gave it a reassuring squeeze, understanding that he hated being vulnerable, hating it even more to show it to someone, including her with some topics.

"You know that you can trust me with anything," she stroked his knuckles with a thumb. "There's nothing to worry about, I won't judge you," she added, her ears laid back against her head at the same time her lavender eyes studied him.

Returning his attention back to her, he peered deep into her eyes, searching for something she wasn't quite sure of. "You haven't before…..but I'm not so sure this time, Carrots," he murmured, but he took her paw in his other, holding it gently.

"You're just going to have to trust me then," she said, a weak smile in her voice.

"I guess I do, but you sure you can handle to know more about me, Whiskers?" he posed.

"I'm sure I can handle it, Mr. Wilde," she winked at him, her ears having perked up as had his, both focusing on what the other was saying.

"I guess this is why we make such great partners," he chuckled. "We're always jumping paws first into things, just to see where we end up next," he squeezed her paw lovingly, meaning more than just their duty.

"So?"

"So what?" he taunted with a mischievous glint in his eyes, already starting to feel better about this talk.

"Talk," she demanded, "tell me what's been going up in here to get you all worked up," she leaned forward in her seat so she could flick his forehead.

"There's a lot to this, so I have to ask, which one do you want me to talk about, my life on the streets, or my previous partners?"

"The streets. You've never told me much about what happened after you ran away, accept being a con-artist that is," there was more to this that she knew about, such as him being sick, when and where he met Finnick, his past run ins with the authorities in addition to other such matters.

"I'm not going into detail about my street life, but I want you to know that I was a heavy smoker."

"I guessed as much," she said softly, having already guessed as much.

"How?" she brought her pointer plus her wedding finger up to her lips then breathed in in-between the gap between them, before giving a dramatic exhale.

"I don't follow?"

"You do that a lot when you're bored. Most smokers do it when they don't have a cigarette or just people who are getting over an addiction."

"Huh, should probably get a grip on that," he laughed quietly at himself, seeing that this could be a reason why some officers watched him with questioning expressions on their faces.

"When did it start?" she asked, wanting to know more, also to see if he had stopped.

"When I was thirteen…. it went on till I was twenty. It was more when I was twenty-two, seeing as I relapsed a couple times…..yeah I was an addict, could out smoke a tar factory," he looked down at the paws he had linked with his wife's, glad that she was the reason why he hadn't go back to that life.

"When did you actually start?" she pried, wanting to know more specific details.

"Urmmm, I don't actually recollect where and when," he confessed. "I'd have to say it was sometime in the winter, or I may have been here. Well I wasn't making much money so I mostly couchsurfed….." he stopped as she looked confused, "Something wrong?" he asked.

"What's CouchSurfing?" her male gawked from such a question, not believing that she didn't know what it was.

"You're not serious?" he purred, making her scowl at him. "Oh, you're not are you?" she shook her head, giving him a serious glare. The tod was immune to such loathsome looks, so he explained. "CouchSurfing is a or was a hospitality along with being a…ah…..social networking website. It started back in 2003 in New Lampshire. I used it to stay at people's homes, mainly slept on a couch, hence the dumb name, but it saved me from freezing to death most nights," he was getting off topic so he brought them back to it. "Well, one night I couldn't find anywhere that I could afford so I instead bought some cigarettes from some older kids, ransacked a few dumpsters for some blankets, then I found another dumpster to sleep in for the night," he let out a sigh, even today he could still remember the awful smells, how uncomfortable it was. "I smoked most of the night, using the blanket as a tent to keep the smoke in, it wasn't the best idea but I was able to stay a little warm," once again he looked out the window deep in thought. If he was correct they weren't far from that same alleyway.

"How often did you have to sleep in the trash?" the rabbit couldn't grasp that her partner had such a rough childhood.

"After that night, I started to do it more frequently till I was practically doing it all the time," he laughed dryly as he added, "Finnick threatened to drown me in the river if I didn't figure a way to get the stench out of my fur. I met him when I was nineteen, so yeah tells you how much of a cheap bum I was."

They were interrupted as the waiter came back with their drinks, telling them that their meal would be with them soon. The couple thanked him before they took some sips at the cold tea. Nick found it refreshing as his throat felt parched from talking so much. He might have to get some refills because there was a lot more to tell, afterwards there would probably be a lot of questions.

"You told me that you made over two hundred and fifty each day, how could you not have afforded to stay somewhere?" she had been thinking about what he had said and thought about the reasonable amount an animal would charge for a bed or couch for a night.

"I could easily afford them…but I had become a cheap-arsehole very quickly," he smirked at her raising an eyebrow at her playfully. "I know, hard to believe seeing how much I spoil you," she smiled, shaking her head a little at him. "But…..I was young and stupid, I still had the belief that animal's were fare. They wouldn't be hard on me because I was just a cub by that point. Again life showed me how much animal's truly hated my kind," his tone had come down, having become somber. "I put my information up on the website, it had also become an app, so they…."

"How did you get a phone, you even said yourself that you were cheap?"

"Dumpster dived for one that was still in one piece….."

"That's basically stealing, most animal's don't erase their data," she stated.

"I know, but I erased it for them, their credit, their contacts….I was still clinging onto being a good kid then," he took a quick mouthful of his drink, swallowing the evident lump in his throat.

"Sorry, as you were saying?" she hadn't meant to have interrupted him, it had short of come out.

"Well, I was always overcharged, even for being so young most animal's overcharged me. I lost my entire day's pay one night because of some jackass rab….sorry I didn't mean to say that," it was an insensitive and often holding specieist annotations', along with cottontail, flat-paw, perve-ears and so many others besides these.

"I guess that's why you didn't get along with me when you first saw me," she said sympathetically.

"It wasn't just that, there was also that every time I tried to be nice or approached prey such as rabbit's and smaller ones such as mice, shrews, voles, sheep, well, they would always act afraid…..when I got older I was threatened with fox repellent," he let out a huff through his nose, having given himself a headache from talking about his past this much. "We're off topic though," seeing as she wanted to know about his addiction.

"It's okay," she patted the paw that was still interlaced with hers. They got odd looks but she ignored them, they weren't important right now.

"You were undeniably the big break that I was hoping for," giving her his signature smile, one that could only describe as handsomely roguish. Seeing as they still had so much to talk about he pulled them back on track.

"Well, my smoking habit got wore after that," as he thought back on it. "Besides that night, it was one every couple of days, then two, then before long I was having about seven every day. I was getting through roughly three boxes every eight or so days," Judy's eyebrows couldn't have gone any further even if they had wanted to. "I couldn't help myself, but finally I was becoming ill, I was coughing and wheezing till I couldn't move all that much. Reality finally slapped me when I started coughing up black phlegm with blood. That was when I was twenty-two. I had my last cigarette somewhere on the 13th of April, 2007. I haven't touched them since, my will to live kept me going, and I honestly had enough of spending money on them," the bunny gave a weak halfhearted laugh. "I know, I know, my cheapness and the desire to live on so I could one day annoy you are what got me in the end."

They fell silent for a few moments, the rabbit processing everything that the fox had told her. She had to admit she felt a rush of satisfaction wash over her being, glad that her mate was starting to open up more to her. It wasn't as if she often bothered him with questions on his past, yet when she had he would often become silent, moody and eyed her suspiciously. This made it rather plain as the nose on her face that he wasn't asked such questions, naturally putting him on edge. He would though handle it tactfully, requesting her to ask him some other time, or plainly tell her that he wasn't ready to talk about such matters. Her being the patient female she was, respected his decision, though it would often vex her. She was always open with him, he even knew everything about her family, whereas all she knew was that he had a mother, a few uncles, aunts and even a couple of grandfathers.

When they were away she would often fume about his secretive nature to Clawhauser, who would listen and agree, only giving his insight when she asked, other than that he just offered his ear. With the state of affairs as they were, it proved that he was slowly pulling his walls down with her. A step forward in their relationship, one she had been waiting for eagerly as it equally was lengthy. Even with him telling her about some of his history, she felt that he had more to tell her still.

"So you haven't gone back?" breaking the short undisturbed silence.

"Nah, but these last couple of months have…..well…been hard."

"How can you resist the urge that much?"

"I do it because of you. I know you wouldn't care if I smoked or not, but I want to be around for a while. Again, this is all about me, you're just along for the ride."

"You're just saying that," she turned her to look in another direction, hiding her face with a paw.

"Maybe a little," he admitted, nudging one of her feet with his own. "But I honestly had enough of killing myself. I…I had other reasons to why I stopped," he placed his head in his paws, shaking it a little. The rabbit watched her friend's arms as they shook a little. Looking up to his eyes she saw his watching her carefully, at the same time he was laughing a little darkly. "I honestly don't know if I should tell you more."

"Why?" she questioned curiously, if not slightly nervous.

"You're not a jealous type of rabbit, are you?"

"I…...I can't say that I'm not," she thought about some previous boyfriends in her past, seeing as she didn't like them flirting with other bunnies. "Maybe a little….it depends, Nick."

The tod shook his head as he sat up, not looking at her anymore, this talk had evidently ended for now. A few uncomfortable moments passed on till the prey asked emotionlessly.

"You're not mad at me, are you?" emerald eyes met hers, open a little with surprise.

"No, I could never be mad at you, Carrots," he said with a smooth, calm voice, one that melted all the tension away between them. He watched her contently with a miniscule smirk. It soon fell as he let out a sigh, but this time he didn't break her gaze. "I….I-I honestly don't know," a small growl left him as his brain wanted to punch his mouth. "I don't know if I should tell you more."

"I would understand it if you did, Nicholas, " she rubbed a paw against the top of his beneath the table, his eyes glaring at her in mirth. So they couldn't play pawsie in the office, but a diner was fine? His bunny was impossible to figure out some days.

"You….what am I saying," he mumbled to himself, running his claws down his muzzle, he was annoying himself with this. He was a confident, suave, charming fox. What he was right now was anything but that.

"This may not be a big shocker but….."

"Sorry, didn't mean to cut in, but your foods ready," the same lynx that had been serving them having come back with two plates, along with a pitched full of reddish liquid. He set the plates down in front of them plus refilling their glasses, leaving them with another silent apology, seeing as they had been in a serious conversation.

 _Don't you da…_

"We should eat before it gets cold," his wife glared at him with displeasure. "Let's eat a little first," he reassured her before he took a fry and munched it down.

"Erhhhhh, fine, have it your way," she tried to guilt him, but this one of those rare times where he wasn't affected.

Judy bit into her sandwich, putting their talk behind them as they ate. The food was good, she had to admit that much seeing as the smell of it had been making her mouth water. It wasn't the greatest thing she had ate, this being only a fast food diner, but it was much better than the larger commercial ones. These larger scale cooperated ones were okay once every so often, but they would make her feel awful if she had them too much. Her mate didn't like them all that much, more often than not he would generally avoid them altogether. Which didn't quite make much sense seeing that he admitted that he was cheap, so where else would he go to buy cheap food. It was likely pizza or something along those lines, but it didn't really matter.

The reynard took another mouthful of his drink before he attempted to make small talk. "How's the food?" he got a hum in reply making him smirk. "That good huh?" she was chewing on a mouthful but that didn't stop her from eying him with distrust. It wouldn't be the first time he made her laugh when she was drinking or eating. He surprised her by not saying anything but just rubbing his paw from her ankle up her leg with the scar. "That's good," he smiled warmly before adding in an undertone, knowing that she could hear him, "I like going out places with you."

"Your sidetracking," she stated after she took another sip of her tea, and stealing one of his fries.

He looked around them, before pointing a claw to his chest, his eyes wide with surprise, his knife like ears slightly slanting back, "Who? Me?"

"Who else would I be talking to," even with this being frustrating she couldn't help but to giggle from his amusing antics.

"Well, you've have had a go at my toaster a couple times now that you mention it."

"It burnt me," she stated dryly, some deep seated emotion starting to rise out of her subconscious.

"I told you to wait at least a minute before you touched the toast," he scoffed. "It's not my…"

"Nick!" he stopped, his smile falling to a tight lip grimace.

"Fine…..fine, I'll tell you," he munched on a few of his fries before leaning back in the booth seat.

The tod let out a groan, as he saw her waiting for him to say something. He knew that he could trust her with anything, this though was stressful. It was normally something most mate's avoided talking about. Just bringing this up was easier said than done, to actually talk to her about it was another matter entirely. Looking back into her eyes he took a deep breath before he finally got out with a soft voice, not wanting the few other patrons to overhear them.

"Your-you're not the first female I've been attached to. You're the first mate that I've married, but you're not exactly my first mate," she nodded, her eyes looking away thoughtfully but only for a moment. He clenched his jaw shut, waiting for her response before he moved on.

"I guessed that I wasn't you're first Nick, I mean you're older than me, so I sort of suspected it," she admitted, her voice was level, but something sounded off in it. "You already know you're the first guy I've been serious with," she went on, but didn't stop there, "Gods….." her cheeks darkened a little, "…the first one…I was with intimately, my first mate." The fox nodded, clearly having felt the change between them. The air between them felt on edge from the tension that had suddenly appeared.

The smaller mammal finally asked irritably. "So what am I? the twelfth, the eight..."

"You're my sixth….."

"Why is it that I've spilled out everything about me to you, while I know so little about you?"

"I…I, what's this about?" he asked, truly not understanding where any of this was coming from.

"This is about how you seemingly don't trust me, Nick. I'm your partner for the gods damn it all!" her voice had gone up a fraction, getting some of the other patrons attention, but she didn't pay them any mind.

"Judy, I trust you with my life," he said, feeling his heart hammering painfully, never having seen her this upset before.

"You have a damn messed up way of showing it," she snapped.

"I'm trying my best here," he shot back defensively, not liking how she was painting him, even if some of it was true. "You know that I'm…that I hate opening up, it makes me feel vulnerable, and I. Hate. It!" he grumbled, sitting forward and pointing a claw at her accusingly, his eyes were wild as he desperately tried to hold his emotions back. His lips trembled as he wanted to bare his fangs, but he didn't want to scare her, never that.

"Well, big news flash for you Mr. Wilde, it's how animal's build trust. I trust you, but it's clear that you don't trust me at all," she gestured wildly.

"Well that's sad, because news flash for you, Dumb Bunny, I don't, thought you would have learned that by now," he sat back heavily with a loud thump, waving his paw as though dismissing a servant.

"At least I'm not a Dumb Fox, at least I'm not always suspicious and racist towards everyone because I can't let the past go," she shot straight back, her adrenaline and anger numbing her realization that everyone was watching them and the hurtful things she was saying.

"Oh coming from you, the rabbit who followed me into a café because she thought I was just another _fox_ ," he scoffed, shaking his head with disgust.

"Yeah, and I was right because you're nothing more than that, just a hated fox because he is exactly what everyone else sees," she snarled. "A liar, a cheat, a jerk and a complete tool user!" she threw out. "If it wasn't for that damn case you'd still be doing the same damn thing or behind bars."

"Yeah, and guess what, Sweetheart. You'd be nothing more than a meter-maid, you'd be doing nothing more than handing out tickets and fines in that stupid uniform they made you wear. You know what else, Bellwether would have been mayor and no one else would know the better."

"It's always about you isn't it," the rabbit grumbled massaging her temples, seeing out of the corner of her eyes the owner and a few of the staff of the restaurant bickering to one another to do something. She could care less about what they had to say, what was going on between her husband and her had been coming for a long time now. It had been lying in wait for the right moment to pounce and wreak it's havoc.

"Bull-shit!" he said slowly and deliberately. "You don't know me at all do you!"

"I know enough to know that this was a mistake," she said without thinking, making the tod's eyes widen.

"Yo….you," this shattered his resolve, his anger being drained as the structure of his world shook. "You don't mean that?" his voice wavered with emotion.

"What do you think?"

"I…..I don't know," Judy realized as she calmed down a little that she had shattered him emotionally. Without his voice in the midst of their quarreling she had calmed down, not finding fuel to burn to keep being angry. Now though she saw that she had used a metaphorical knife to sever them. She didn't answer him though, her voice having disappeared for the moment.

"I….I need to get some air," he got up suddenly, his sternum crashing into the table's edge. He sucked in a breath of pain, but other than that he hardly processed it as he walked out and away from the motionless rabbit who was too stunned to move or say anything, only able to watch.

Judy covered her face with her paws, digging her claws into the flesh hidden beneath the fur. Tears welled up in her amethyst gems, out of sadness but more out of self-hatred. She didn't even know why she had said such things, she wasn't one to normally say such hurtful and horrid things to another animal, much less her husband. How had it all been going so well today to just go blow out of proportions like it just had.

"Urmmmm, ma'am," she spread her fingers, looking through the gaps to see a raccoon, obviously the manager from how he was dressed.

"Sorry," she said softly, not having meant for everyone to witness that.

"It's quite alright, but I'm gonna have to ask yeh, if yeh could pay. I don't mean teh intrude or nothen, or for this to seem inappropiate, an I apologise for hounden yeh abot it," he explained, seemingly nervous from seeing it was an officer that he was addressing.

"Ehhhh, sure. You take credit?" she asked, wiping her eyes as she offered one of her credit cards between her fingers.

"That's right," he took it and took tentative steps away before he went back over to his staff.

The lone officer looked out the window, wanting nothing more than anything to run after the fox, but this needed to be dealt with first. She was hoping that he was just waiting inside their cruiser, if nothing else that he hadn't gotten too far away from the diner. For a moment she considered texting him, but he would more than likely just ignore it. This would have to be taken care of face to face, she couldn't repair the damage that had been done so impersonally such as a text, or a phone call.

Mrs. Wilde smacked her head against the table, glad for the pain as it distracted her momentarily from what had just occurred minutes before. How could she have said that, or any of the things she had said to him. He had thrown his own nasty comments as well but she held most of the blame seeing as she had started it all. True it was both of their faults for this having come up, but it was hers alone for how she had let it get to her. It was evident to her even before now that this was who her mate was, she couldn't change that and if he was to change it was up to him, not her trying to force him to do it. She should have dealt with this like she had always done with matters concerning him. Time. All that had to be done was to ask him to think about it, and give him time to decide for himself what to do, not pestering him about it, or snapping at him like she had.

Five minutes passed her by as she sat there, waiting for her credit card to be returned to her so she could leave. It was best to be patient with these sort of situations, it was giving her time to come up with an apology and a way to approach her husband when she next saw him. If there was one definite that she knew, it was that she loved him. What she had said was nothing more than just wild unjustifiable anger which she had focused on her partner. Hopefully he had come to this conclusion himself, wherever he was at that moment. He would mope, sometimes he would leave for a few hours at a time to think. He was the one who usually took the longest time to cool down after their arguments, this not even being close to the first. But this had been one of their few most intense shouting matches.

The lynx that had been serving them from earlier came over to her and handed her the receipt and returned her card, which she put both into her pocket.

"Do you want me to box this to go?" the teen asked, Judy then notching that half of their food was still there.

"If you could, please," she said, seeing that her fox wasn't one to waste food or money, and this could potentially start a smaller argument later.

It wasn't even five minutes later when she stepped outside into the crispy cold air of the artificial environment that was Tundratown. She looked over to the black and white cruiser across the small parking lot, and she saw that her partner was in the passenger seat. He wore an emotionless expression as he stared out the passenger window, his head held up by a propped up paw. Seeing this made the guilt pull on her heart painfully, never seeing him so diffused as he was now. A sudden harsh breeze racked her with it's icy cold claws. She looked up to the sky, seeing the sky darkening as a storm rolled in. It seemed that the news report was correct in predicting all the districts would be getting snow, maybe sleet in Rainforest and rain in Sahara.

After banging her paws together to free them of the ankle deep snow of the parking lot, she closed the door with a slam, then placed the boxes of food down on the rubber mat beneath her seat. She shuffled nervously from the overhanging tension as she turned on the engine to the cruiser so they could heat it up again. Her mouth opened as she was about to say something, but it snapped shut just as quickly, not knowing what to exactly say to him anymore. Everything she had planned back in the diner moments ago having just abandoned her.

The tod helped her with that as he mumbled, "Sorry for leaving you in there like that, Carrots."

"Nicholas….I…you're…we shouldn't…..I didn't mean to….I'm so sorry," she finally stumbled out.

The male turned his attention to his companion, his emerald spheres looking deeply into her amethyst ones, two gems that were completely opposite, much like them. He didn't say anything as he just studied her eyes, trying to find something in them that she herself didn't know. Was it sincerity for her words, her love for him, to try and uncover who she really was, was this his way of conveying his own apology? She did not know, and she never would because he just placed a paw on her cheek, making her flinch from the sudden, unexpected but welcomed touch.

"Being the pessimist that you'rs truly is, I sees the difficulty in every opportunity; while an optimist, like the gorgeous bunny such as yourself, sees the opportunity in every difficulty," his words were soft, precise as he murmured them to her. "Yet, I am so easily satisfied with the best, but the best that I can only see, is you, and who I ask to take my apology," he pressed his muzzle against hers, their noses kissing, before pressed his lips to hers. When he pulled away she was watching him with tears once again in her eyes, a few escaping, which he wiped away with a gentle thumb, which caressed the flesh around her eyes lovingly. As he pulled away from her he said in the same husky tone, "I forgive you Jude, I could never stay cross with you," he smooched the bridge of her muzzle.

"H-how can y-you forgive m-me so eas-ily," she said her voice shaking with full of emotion. The tod smirked, telling her with nothing but sincerity in his voice, "Because, I'm a jerk," she closed her eyes tightly remembering what she had said. "But, I'm also your mate, who loves you."

"You can be so difficult sometimes," she confessed, a little sliver of anger still residing in her.

"I know, but you have a lot of time to work that out of me," he wiped away the few remaining tears.

"I'm sorry for what I said back there…..I didn't know what got over me," with help from him she got over the middle console, situating herself in his lap till they were both comfortable. One of her husband's paws pressed against the small of her back. As she buried her face into his rigid chest from the vest beneath his shirt, she said softly, "I love you so much, Nicholas," her voice was muffled from his blue uniform. Her ears rose a little as they heard a click, then another.

"I love you so much, Nicholas," her voice repeated to them electronically. She glared back up at him, seeing that he had nicked her carrot pen. He looked down at her and breathed, "You can have that back in forty-eight hours," she chuckled with a grin before resting against him again, her ears lowering down her back. The fox absentmindedly stroked them with his other paw as he put the pen into one of his shirt pockets for safe keeping.

"You were right back there," she hummed questioningly as he stroked her. "You've jabbered on so much about yourself, while I've only hinted. I'll work on that," he kissed the top of her head, before he glanced over to the stereo. It was starting to come up for fourteen hundred, they'd have get back to work soon.

"So, wanna bet that Buffalo Butt will charge us for disturbing the peace?" he shook her a little seeing that she was trying to not so sneakily fall asleep, or so he thought. In truth she just enjoyed listening to his heartbeat, it was soothing and it also reminded her of the nights she fell asleep against his chest.

"You're always a loud mouth, so I doubt it," she smiled, imagining such a scenario.

"Hmmmm, amongst other things, he trailed a claw down to her tail, pulling on it enough to get her to shuffle on his lap, her paws pressed against the seat on either side of his waist. It was only because it was more convenient and comfortable for the both of them, also it was easier for her to tease him like this. The tod felt her tighten the knot of his tie so it was cutting into his throat a little more snugly then it usually was.

"Gahhh...Okay, okay, I get it," he said rasped, seeing as he now had a physical knot against his throat.

"Stop wearing a tie then," she laughed as she pulled away from him, looking up at his handsome face.

"Lose the ties, I thought you liked them?" he said acting wounded.

"I like them, but they're still ugly," she ran her paws over the silky fabric, straightening it out for him.

"Admit it. You love everything about my ties and what they can be use…"he gagged once again as she noosed him the business fabric.

"That mouth of yours is getting you in trouble again," she sung with an overly sick lovely dovely tone.

"Oh…..god, I hope so," he rasped as she made it tighter.

"So how many mate's did you have again?"

"Six," he breathed, not wanting to tease her right now, seeing how she was trying to hang him. "You're also my last," she looked up at him with a small evil smile, "I've had a lot of girlfriends as well, around seventeen or so, but they weren't anything serious. And none of them were…..as interesting as you," he gulped past the knot.

"I had a couple of boyfriends while in high school and in college, it didn't last, couldn't you tell," something she had already told him about in great length.

"Those…..assholes never…..supported yeh much," he, scratched the scruff of her neck thoughtfully.

"No, not like you," she loosened the tie a bit, seeing that he was behaving again. It was though, nice to have finally found a male who was supportive of her decisions.

"Well that's a given. There's only one Nicholas Wilde," he cocked an eyebrow down at her, challenging her to try something.

The other officer watched her partner for a few moments before she asked the question that had been bothering her since their little spat, "Why didn't you tell me about this before now?"

"Well….I hadn't planned on telling you about this…..," he replied. "But I only told you because I was afraid that you would eventually hear the media's version of it," he admitted coolly.

"Did you think I would be gullible enough to believe them?" the rabbit quirked her own brow, her paws messing around with the tie again, looking up at him with anything but innocence.

"No, I don't think that at all. It's just that they...can be very…..convincing in the lies they come up with, I didn't want to take any….chances," he explained, not wanting her to pull on the tie again.

"Why would I believe them, I already have a good enough source, right here ," she said with a sultry purr.

"Hmmm, exactly what I thought," he murmured.

"Then what is it Mr. Wilde?" she growled. "Don't you trust me?" she hissed to him, causing a small spark of lust igniting behind his eyes.

"Hmmmm, wonder if the seats are comfortable enough," he hummed, inching his muzzle closer to hers again as they spoke. His deep, long breaths, had become short irregular bursts, his heart hammering in his chest as he felt heat envelop him beneath his fur.

"You're going to have to find out," she battered her eyes at him slowly, her chest rising and falling like his. The rabbit wasn't always so uptight about when and where they could mess around. She was just as bad as him when there wasn't any actual activity going on. This was especially difficult to manage during stake outs, which they would normally chat to keep the other awake for the usually long shift. So far in all their years they had only fooled around once, but that had just been them making out. They hadn't done much else than that in their cruiser, nothing either of them would admit to that is.

"Cruiser 174?" the speakers from the radio crackled.

Judy turned around in her mate's lap, plucking the receiver from its resting clip. "This is cruiser 174, Officer Hopps speaking," she answered, slapping one of the fox's paws away from her stomach as he tried to tickle her.

"This is a 10-35, along with reporting a 211A at 9827 Arcshire Avenue."

"It's not too far from where we are, we'll check it out," she said, her tone becoming serious, but at the same time excitement bubbled up inside her. Finally something exciting had come up on today's boring patrol.

"10-4….." there was a short pause before, "There is report of a 10-51 dash 91, most likely the suspect. It's a middle aged Siberian tiger, we're now authorizing caution, now also a 10-91V.

"10-4 station, we're on route, over and out."

"Good hunting guys, over and out," the dispatcher left them with that.

"I hate 10-91V, stupid 10-51," Nick grumbled as he checked his utility belt, checking that his tranquilizer was ready for use.

"Ah come on, it'll be fun," she tried to cheer him up.

"Hah, bet he'll pick you up and throw you at me," the fox mumbled remembering the last time that this had happened. He dug through his pocket till he found the metal object, slipping them on his left paw.

"Nick, knuckles are illegal."

"They've saved our lives more than once out there," he turned on the camera and cruiser's recorder, before mumbling,"So please keep that lovely mouth of your's shut about it," he gave her playful wink.

"Fine," she grumbled not liking it, yet also had to agree with him seeing that he had saved her life with them once before. "Ready partner."

"Always, now step on it, we don't want someone else to bag him and get the glory ," she pulled out of the parking lot while her partner slid on his shades with his usual mischievous smirk. There would be time to finish their serious talks later tonight, now they had a job to do and she wouldn't want anyone else watching her back.

 **HI: Hey everyone. Been a hectic week here while writing. Got a lot of writers block with this chapter as well, for three days I was only able to type a few hundred words or delete a couple sections I didn't like. Yeah so that's this chapter in a nutshell on production. Got pretty intense there didn't it? Well no relationship is perfect, fights, arguments and just general disagreements will come up. Partners will often put their annoyances aside only for them to come up during the worst kind of situations, am I right? XD. Though this chapter was a parade of barricades that I had to hurdle over, I have to say it was fun writing this chapter as were the rest. Hope you enjoyed it.**

 **So not much of an apology, but think of it as one. I was only able to get my chapters out every three days because of spring break, I mean I had a ton of time back then, because there were no classes, and I didn't have a job to go to, well ranch hand is a job, but it doesn't require me being away from a computer all the time. So Expect an update every six days, three to four as the least, five as the middle dude. Seven to nine if there is serious writers block or I am having PC problems. So that's about it for now, I can't wait for the next two chapters to come out, and I'm the writer, lol. Also It seems that our two favorite officers repaired things rather quickly, why's that some of you may be asking. Well, I can't see Nick being one to hold a grudge for too long, he seems rather calm and collective, always willing to patch things up easily when it concerns Judy. So that's why they just let it go after they make up, they simply just let it go, it's in the past and it's done. Some folks can do that, but it's not truly that common, but whoever said that these two officer's were normal, ;)**

 **Well time to get the sign off underway. So seeing the weather outside my window and looking at the forecast, along with living in lovely windy as crap Wyoming where the weather is unpredictable, I may get snowed in. Till then you brilliant fictionists this is Reverend Archangel signing off, leaving you with these little comments. Nick says some historical quotes, care to guess who by? Also I wanted to answer this statement by AZalmega.** _**"Nice collar reference with the dream. Now if only a certain someone would do a whole story on it..."**_ **Well I've been putting a lot of thought into another story since I did that dream world of Nick's. I've decided that once this story is over, I'm going to tackle this other Zootopia which will be a roller coaster of fun, I've already come up with the plot for it, so this will be what I'm working on next. Also it will have JudyxNcik, but in it's own unique way.**

 **Now time for our beloved Penal Codes-**

 **10-35: Time Check**

 **211A: Robbery Alarm**

 **10-4: Confirmed**

 **10-51: Drunk**

 **10-91: Animal**

 **10-91V: Animal, Vicious**

 **Lastly-Lastly: Fox's can't actually raise their hackles in real life, they lack the muscles in their muzzles to do so. As such I'm adding it to another one of the evolutionary adaptations that animal's have in Zootopia. Strange that they can't though, but oh well, that's why we have artistic licenses. Also, I've been spelling Nick's full name wrong for so long, thanks guys for letting me get away with it this long, XD. Nicholas, not Nickolas. Uhhhh, a small mistake that is insignificant, but I like to be correct with spelling someone's name.**


	9. Two Years Down and More to Come

**_Chapter VIV_**

 ** _Two Years Down and More to Come_**

 _His_ _heart was hammering in his chest, as though it was trying so desperately to burst free from him. He would have preferred if it would have, considering as the predicament he was in was causing his nerves to shake like a jitterbug. On no account before in his life had he felt so desperate to run, shout and dig a hole in to hide from the world. It didn't make sense that over the course of these last two years, that this exact minute was undoing him. The entire fiasco with Bellwether, the whole year he spent attending the ZPA, even his graduation as the valedictorian and being the first fox officer didn't even compare to the extreme feeling of apprehension coursing through his very being._

 _'Why….why did I have to go through with this…..maybe it was too early…..shit, shit, shit! Maybe I over thought things, maybe I overstepped and assumed too much.' He thought to himself in absolute horror._

 _His eyes shot downwards from the cable-gondola, maybe he could jump onto one of the many trees, or maybe even if he was feeling cocky enough, onto one of the passing boxes. It was a stupid thought but if he survived he would definitely be getting out of the tight spot he had cornered himself in. Then again, it was illegal to do such stupid things, mainly to enforce the general population not to do such displays of idiocy. Also there was the fact that a part of him wanted to wait and see what would transpire in the following seconds._

 _Keeping his eyes trained forward was much more difficult then he believed it ought to be. They kept stubbornly disobeying him, darting back to his partner, whom was currently starring in wide eyed wonder at his paw that was wrapped around her shoulder, presenting to her a burnished gift. One which caught the sun's rays, making it appear to be even more radiant. Her eyes were transfixed by such a gift; it was a beautiful piece, something he had handpicked and worked with the jewelers for the last several months. Even with it being so precious, his paw was suspended in the air over the railing, ready to let it go if she didn't want it; the soft breeze ruffling his fur showing just how easy it would be for it to fall away into the canopy below. It hadn't been cheap but it had been made specifically for her, fitted for her alone._

 _It had been half a minute since he had opened the felt carton and offered its contents to her. For this time, she had a paw covering her mouth, her other circling around her wrist, her breathing came erratically as she was overcome with what he was putting forward. Not even her ears were up with their usual cheer, both laying flat and lifeless, possibly in shock. Her precious gems of looking glasses having glossed over in tears, of guilt or happiness he didn't know, he desired for the latter._

 _Once again he tore his worrying gaze away from her, concentrating on the skyscrapers in the distance. The steel girder giants slowly approaching them, appearing to be half the size of his thumb as they were gently pulled along. It felt like decades ago since they were last here, where he had fully committed himself to helping her solve her case. Where he had actually recounted a crucial moment in his life to her, she being the first he had ever told. That was a somber yet happy memory now that he looked back at it. Hopefully the outcome of today would also be a pleasant memory further down the road._

 _Currently, he only wished for the chance that he could delve back two years ago, if only to escape the intensity of this exact instant till it had passed. But this was something that no mammal or reptilian could do, so as it were he was stuck. Stuck a hundred meters or so above the ground and stuck in a gondola with a doe who could either make this the best day of his life or the most awkward one for the next half an hour if she rejected him._

 _The tod didn't want to press her to come to a decision, seeing as this wasn't a small matter. He had proposed to her, crazily enough he had asked her to marry him. It wasn't crazy that he was in love with her, what wasn't there to love about her. It was the fact of them being natural enemies along with neither of them being the same species. Though she was respectively his complete opposite in many regards, he was attracted to her in every little way. As such, he would give her the rest of the evening, a week if she needed it. But just this long drawn out silence was killing him with anxiety._

 _Clearing his throat, he said in a soft undertone, "Judith, I really do enjoy the silent moments between us, but this isn't exactly one of those times….So if you could please tell me if you need time….or something. You're killing me here."_

 _This seemingly broke her out of her trance as her eyes snapped up to his, emerald and amethyst locking onto one another. "Thi-thi…..this isn't a….a..a-a joke is it?" she studied him as though searching for signs that this was a cunning joke of his._

 _"I should be offended," he raised an eyebrow at her, giving her a small grin, feeling just as nervous as she seemingly was. With his shaky free paw he took hold of one of hers, while simultaneously bringing the box into the compartment. "But I'm oh so very serious, right now…..will you grace me with being my wife."_

 _"Nicholas," her nose was twitching persistently as she looked down at her feet nervously for half a second before looking up with a smile. "Yes," she finally breathed._

 _"Wha-what?" he asked incredulously, not sure if he had heard her right._

 _"Did I stutter," she giggled. "I said yes, you Dumb Fox," she gave a little bounce and wrapped her arms around his neck in a death hug._

 _"Guess you didn't," he wrapped an arm underneath one of her legs, easily holding her up to him. "Hmmm, Judith Selene Wilde," he mumbled against her neck, making her chuckle from his warm ticklish breath, and from his whiskers._

 _"Fat chance, get used to being Nicholas Piberius Hopps," she laughed._

 _"Shut up," he pressed his muzzle against hers, welcoming the lips he had become quite accustomed to kissing for the last several months._

 _"Make me," she gasped, pushing away from him with a giddy grin._

 _"Trying to," he settled a paw to the back of her head, pulling her back into another passionate kiss, the rest of the world melting away till it was just them. When they pulled away once again, Judy nestled her muzzle underneath his jaw, while he rested his muzzle atop her head, parting her ears apart seeing as they were perked up once again._

 _"I….I never thought that you would propose," her voice trembled, tearing up, this not being the last time she cursed her farther for giving her his emotional side._

 _"Well you better start believing it," he ran the paw grasping the back of her head down her back to her tail which he would squeeze seldomly, knowing exactly where she liked to be touched._

 _"How much longer till we get back to our apartment?"_

 _"Roughly an hour," she started to chuckle and he grinned as well._

 _"What's the plan now?"_

 _"I just plan on holding you, maybe kissing you a little," he nuzzled her cheek before he kissed it. "Or, maybe a lot," he murred into her downy fur. All she did was purr in reply, not being able to come up with….._

"...Yo, foxy loxy woxy….. come in!" the vulpine was brought out of this memory from the voice of the other officer sharing the cruiser with him.

"What is it Dancey Wancey?" he grumbled tiredly as he stretched his body out in the driver's seat.

"You dozed off beauty queen," the younger male retorted as he leaned back onto his arm to look out the window. "Now…..tell me again, why are we getting paid roughly almost sixty thousand dollars a year to sit on our arses?"

"Well that's easy. To enforce and uphold the laws of society to insure that it doesn't collapse on itself…..and because we signed up for it, " he yawned, displaying his sharp fangs.

"Sounds about right…we're out of coffee," the younger moped.

"Well, at least we still got the AC?"

"Yeah…..got a call in from the station, there's a sandstorm rolling in on us in the next hour, or forty minutes."

"Urrhhhhhhhh! Well we got to call it early then, this cruiser can't take too much sand into its cooling fan or filter, it'll choke up," Wilde went for the ignition but the rookie pulled the keys out.

"Sorry old man but they're requesting us to stay here," the smaller predator snatched the key back. The lupine continued, as he wiped some of the sweat off his muzzle, panting from how hot it was in the car from Sahara's environment. He had become quite accustomed to patrolling it by now, but still the heat was murder.

"That's odd, we're normally called out till the storm passes us by," Nick commented dryly, literally his throat was parched. He too was sweaty and uncomfortable with all their uniforms and gear. If he had it his way he would have stripped all his clothing off by now, but that was against conduct.

"The dispatcher just suggested that there's a protest or something of the sort going on somewhere or the other, I don't know. Whatever it is they got their hands full this afternoon," he cracked his window for a moment before opening it the rest of the way, finding that it was actually cooler outside.

"Wow, so big storm, hot as hell outside, and we can't have the AC on. Anything else to report officer?"

"In further breaking news we go to the model Lance Roberts for our next update…..I gat nothin," he mumbled, moving his head closer to the window.

"Oh I got something," the wolf quirked an eyebrow questioningly. "We got to put the damn covers over the grill," he grouched as he opened the door and headed to the boot, the other mammal joining him.

The two officers struggled getting the stretchy fabric onto the front of the car, this taking ten minutes till they finally got it on, and getting it to stay. After this painful task was finally over with, the younger male headed off to the gas station which wasn't too far from where they were situated. The older one got back into the car and got comfortable in his seat once again, knowing that when they finally got off duty his rear was going to be stiff. It was a necessary evil of the job, along with the endless stacks of paperwork that had to be filled out every month of the year.

As most of the other officers joked around the station, ninety percent of the time it was pure boredom, and ten percent of pure terror and action. This wasn't necessarily true, seeing both Judy and him had sat around all day in their cruiser, with not even a single speeding ticket being handed out. The only action they got was that every hour they got out to stretch and walk up and down the streets. It wasn't often that an entire day went by without some activity occurring, but it could be much worse, they could be the officers out in the country waiting for something to happen. The scenery would be nice, seeing as some of the countryside's around Zootopia were surrounded by mountains, forests and a good deal of rivers.

If she had volunteered for being part of the units who were assigned the country she could have been closer to her family. She never had and when he had asked her about it, she simply told him she liked working in the city more. He couldn't argue with her, seeing that it was much more exciting here, but it did have its downsides. Homicides being one of them. Which were quite more frequent in the cities then the smaller towns and communities. It was a normal thing that occurred in society unfortunately, but it still didn't make it any easier going to the crime scenes to secure them and seeing the waste of life.

Unlike his wife though, he had grown up around this sort of thing so he was more desensitized to this kind of violence. For the longest time he remembered walking in the opposite direction when scuffles broke out in the projects and other such shady sides of the city. The tod had been close to at least nine murders, four of which turned out to be shootings, two were stabbings. The remaining had been road related accidents, one a head on head collision, the other two had been drive by hitting which he had seen from a distance. Other animals around the _accident_ had dealt with it, but this didn't make it any easier to come to grips with it. Simply ignoring it didn't reassure him as much as he had hoped, especially these days since he was by law required to be a part of it.

As such, seeing the blood, and the lifeless corpses of the deceased had little effect on him now, however his wife was a different matter entirely. He had to console her most times after she came back from crime scene details, often than not she was in tears or just very numb. Tears he could deal with easily, but when she was numb and unresponsive, it often worried him. She hadn't as of yet done anything extreme, to his knowledge anyways. Either way it wasn't uncommon for officers to kill themselves. It was a way to try and escape all the awful things they saw, some just couldn't deal with it and when their fellow officers finally saw the signs it was often too late.

His bunny though wasn't one who considered that an option, she was too grounded with her morals and ethics. When she was all messed up from these details she would find him and tell him to keep her in check, keep her busy with something. That was easy enough, but he tried his best to cheer her up, to remind her that life still went on, that they were still okay, as selfish as it sounded it was the truth. At the end of the day it wasn't them. Their job was to apprehend and bring the criminals to justice, to avenge those that had their life's taken away too soon. In the end it was how life was for them, sure it was grim some days but that was the real world for them, it wasn't like the childhood fantasy and belief of everything being fair. Society would be better if it was, yet that wasn't the case and it was animals like them that had to sort it out.

Being who he was, he often distanced himself emotionally when working on these kind of crime scenes. He wasn't strong, he just knew that from a few previous experiences that if he thought about what he was looking at he would go insane. It was someone's child, a father or mother, a close friend of someone's that they were inspecting; inspecting their lifeless shells just as they did when studying spent cartridges and paw prints. To think along these lines compromised them from following their duties affectively. Distance, always distance themselves from it all. When they got home for the day, just try to simply forget about it.

The fox's mate struggled with this concept, she always had and most likely would always struggle with it. Nevertheless, working alongside her for these three years as both a partner and later on her husband, there was one thing that he complimented her on and that was her being a true cop. No one else that he met had the mental strength she possessed. Physically speaking she was considered weak compared to the bigger mammals of their station along with him, but what she lacked she made up for in speed and resourcefulness. But her one flaw was that she had too big of heart, not exactly a bad trait but for officers, it just made the job especially difficult for her on occasions. The public loved her for being who she was, the caring, responsible and law enforcing rabbit officer. But as he had witnessed it got her pulled into the strangest of games. All he had to say was Bellwether, it was as simple as how her heart got her dragged into something much bigger than either of them.

Mr. Wilde broke away from these thoughts as he realized that he was twisting his ring around his wedding finger, effectively having gotten it stuck as the flesh had swelled a little. Leaving it alone he thought on the brighter side of life, principally seeing that today was a special occasion. It was their anniversary, for two years now they had been married and he could positively say that things were still great between them still. Sure the ups and downs but every marriage was like that at some point in time, they weren't perfect, the event at the diner a week ago evidence enough.

Even with last week's quarrel still fresh in both of their minds, they were heading away from it, both of them trying to do better communicating seeing as every argument originated from it breaking down. With things more or less as they normally were between them they had arranged plans for tonight after they were off duty. Once they were relieved they would head home to change, take an hour off to decompress and then they were planning on heading out to catch dinner somewhere quite and hopefully to catch a movie. If either of them were feeling up to it later on that night when they got home, there were more fervent plans.

With today being the day it was and that they hadn't gotten their requested day off, Judy had talked to the chief about assigning her to another partner for the day. This was much to Nick's displeasure, but he guessed he could let it slide. He would more than likely gave distracted both of them while they were on duty by being overly affectionate on their day. It didn't mean that he couldn't be grumpy from being away from her, though it was only for a workday. At least the rest of the evening she was all his, hopefully nothing would need their attention to like a family emergency or the chief calling them in for something or the other.

Just thinking about his prey the predator took out his phone, considering as he was still waiting on his partner to get back from the gas station with their drinks and snacks. Before he started to message his companion he looked outside, seeing that the edge of the sand storm had hit, no one insight currently. Returning his attention back to the screen he started tapping up a message, after taking a pic of the deserted streets in front of him.

 _ **Hey, looks like I got the entire town to myself! How thoughtful of everyone, lol. So What's up Fluffy Wuffy ;)**_

 _ **…**_

 _ **I'm totally killing you tonight.**_ There was a selfie with her flipping him off with her classic scowl. Ears laid back all the way, eyelids having come down to rest so she glared at him disapprovingly, lips in a loose but serious posture.

 _ **Ohh, but what would my cutesy wootsy bunny do without me?**_

 _ **…**_

 _ **Probably move on with my life, jerk.**_

 _ **…**_

 _ **Hey, you're not actually upset are you?**_

 _ **…**_

 _ **You there still?**_ he asked when she didn't reply for a few minutes.

 _ **…**_

 _ **What do you think?**_

 _ **…**_

 _ **It was just a joke, come on don't be like that.**_

 _ **…**_

 _ **Hmmmmppphhh**_

 _ **…**_

 _ **How's work going?**_ The tod tried to move to another topic, not truly sure if he had gone too far or not.

 _ **…**_

 _ **You didn't think I was serious did you?**_ She asked with the first message, the next few being sent in rapid succession. _**But seriously though, you know I hate being cute, it's a derogative term. But I'm fine, just waiting in the cruiser with Ella, nothing much going on today.**_ Ella was an arctic wolf, she didn't interact much, since her English wasn't all that good, given that she had been transferred from a department in the more northern regions. _**Looks like Lance and you are having a lot of fun out there, guess you were ordered to stay put too?**_

 _ **...**_

Nick quickly typed back a reply, seeing that his signal was starting to come and go as the storm finally hit with full force, he would lose signal sooner or later at this rate. _**Yeah it's like a day on the beach out here, just not an attractive animal in sight with a bathing suit, that is all except you. God that uniform hugs you right in every way ;) . Anyways, what do you know about what's going on at the station, I was out stretching when the station checked in with us. Lance says it's a protest or something like that.**_

 _ **...**_

 _ **You're making me blush right now :$ . Either way I don't know much more than you guys, from what I picked up from some other officers chatting on the system, it's an anti-Interspecies demonstration or something like that. I'm glad that no one knows about us, or we'd definitely be on the news tonight with these guys cursing about us.**_

 _ **…**_

 _ **Do you want to cancel tonight and stay home?**_

 _ **…**_

 _ **No, I'm not going to let other peoples opinion ruin our night.**_

 _ **…**_

 _ **Alright. So you got everything ready for tonight then?**_

 _ **…**_

 _ **It's hanging in our bathroom, just need to slip into when we get back, you'll like what I picked out.**_

 _ **…**_

 _ **I like you in whatever you're in, better when it's nothing at all, Gorgeous ;D**_

 _ **…**_

 _ **You defiitely got a fetish or something for rabbits don't you?**_

 _ **…**_

 _ **Not really, only for you.**_ His phone's signal started to freak out so he quickly added in. _**Signal's about to die, I'll catch you later, Carrots. ^**_ _ **ㅂ**_

 _ **…**_

 _ **Alright, it's probably for the best, It's pretty busy here right now seeing as everyone's going back to work from lunch. See you, Slick. :D.**_

That was the last message he got before he got a red circle with a slash through it. Now that he had affectively been cut off from his mate he found that there wasn't much else to do till the other predator got back to him. He looked at the clock on the dashboard, seeing that twenty minutes had gone by. Knowing the rookie, he had more than likely gotten lost out there if he tried to walk back in it.

Shifting in his seat he was about to get out when he the passenger door was suddenly wrenched open. Nicks ears lowered in annoyance from the howling wind, his eyes squinting as sand blew into his face. Finally the door was slammed shut as the rookie settled in his seat and had handed the older male the goods. He shook his coat a few times, spraying even more sand into their cruiser.

"Took you long enough, kid," Nick chuckled as the wolf was coughing a little from breathing in so much of the sand particles, effectively getting deep into his gray and dark brown fur, as well as getting some in his eyes, which were watering from the irritation it was causing.

"Had to fill out a few fines, some stupid kids parked their car in a handicapped zone," he mumbled as he laid back before his eyes shot open in horror, "I'm sorry for the mess…..I-I'll clean it up," he said as he saw what he had brought in.

"It's fine, we'll clean it out when we get back later," Nick waved it off. Sand was annoying to get out, but it was a lot easier than trying to scrub mud out of the carpet and seats, but that was a story for another time.

It was silent for the next quarter of an hour, all except the racket from the wind carried grit chinking off the windows and metal of the car. This along with the occasional shudder as the wind battered the side of the car in a strong gust. Neither of the officers said anything for a time, both just patiently waiting this out as there was nothing else they could do. Also there was zilch to talk about for the moment so they just nibbled on the snacks and sipped at the cool waters and sodas that the other had bought. The fox had handed over some money, seeing as it was polite to pay for half of what had been bought.

The lupine coughed into his fist a few times as the hour slowly wore on, neither having said a word still. It wasn't the commonly felt peaceful silence between them either. This was as uncomfortable as it would be open a candy wrapper in the middle of prayer in a church, the fox having had experience with this when he was younger. For the tension to be thick enough to be able to cut through it with a knife, there had to be something up with the younger male.

The smaller predator tried his best to ignore it by scrolling through his phones images, as he usually did he lingered on the ones with Judy in them. There was no particular reason, if only to study her eyes and to enjoy seeing her smiles and seldom scowls. He treasured the ones in which she was blushing furiously. Something about her acting flustered was unquestionably adorable to him. The way she pulled on her ears when she was nervous about talking about something, how she looked at her paws when she was embarrassed, and when she would blush when he passed a flirty comment to her.

"Hey…..umm, could I talk to you about something?"

Nick put his phone away then looked up to see the larger mammal scratching the back of his head nervously, his ears pinned down to the top of his head. "Sure, what is it man?"

"Well," the younger adult seemed to have reverted back to being a cub seeing how fidgety and nervous he had become in his seat. "If I tell you, can you….uhhhh, keep it between us?" The kid's sky blue eyes looked into Nick's.

"Hmmmm, well let's see what you got," the vulpine sighed, having caught that kid was making cub eyes at him.

"Thanks," he coughed harshly into a fist a few times before he begun with. "Well you know Shannon?"

"She's the wolverine in our precinct?"

"That's the one," he looked away again, a paw scratching the back of his head once again. After a brief pause he started to talk again, "You see…..I…..I maybe…..kinda….sort of…..I have a crush on her."

"Soooooo," Nick sung out grinning from seeing just how this bigger predator was falling to pieces in front of him. "Asked her out?"

The younger male clearly choked on the air he was breathing as he scoffed. "Are you kidding! She'd kill me man!"

"Hey, you won't know if you were rejected or not," he grinned carnivorously.

"That's not helping," the rookie grumbled, rubbing his face. "This was a mistake."

"Hey, come on just messing with you, stop tying your tail in a knot," the fox chuckled but meant what he said. "So why are you telling me this."

"Well, I see your married," he pointed to the silver wedding band. "Unless I'm mistaken," he added, hoping that he wasn't wrong.

"Keen observation, like no one hasn't noticed it officer. You must really have been the top of your class," the tod mocked shaking his head with a grin, enjoying tormenting his partner.

"Uhhhhhhhh," the kid growled. "What I've been meaning to ask is, how do I ask her out, what should I do? We're different species, and she's been at the station for the last five years. How am I supposed to even get her to take me seriously?" he pulled on the fur on the top of his head angrily, seemingly to tear it out.

"Alright, Lance," Nick said with a soft sigh, having had his fun, it was also sad to see the kid like this. "I'll give you some ideas to work with. First off, don't think of her as a different species, think her as just a female that you're interested," the wolf nodded, having calmed down instantly and eagerly listening to every word. "Secondly, you're going to need to be confident, none of whatever that just was," he waved his hand at all of him. "Lastly, how well do you know her?"

"We're friends I guess, we've gone out to get coffee and lunch a few times together."

"That's good, but before you ask her on a date or something, try just getting closer to her, find out more about her interests, her views….you know just be a friend for a while, and if things….What?" the tod asked seeing that the younger officer was looking at him funny.

"I've already done all that…but it's not that," he sniffed the air a few times, testing what he had picked up on. The fox sniffed as well but didn't smell anything out of the ordinary which was worrying him.

"What do you smell?"

"I…..It's nothing, just thought I picked up a regular scent but it's probably just from the car," he shook his head, his eyes shooting down to the ring for a moment before looking back out the cruisers front window. The lupine sighed though as he returned his attention back to the older male. "Okay, I get that Officer Hopps scent and yours is in the car, but why can I smell her scent more strongly on you?" he raised an eyebrow.

"She hugs me… quite a lot if you hadn't noticed," the tod shrugged, as though it wasn't a big deal.

"That makes sense….sorry," the wolf mumbled feeling like a complete idiot for interrogating his partner who he considered to be a friend.

"It's fine…..but do you have any cards?"

"Yeah, I put them somewhere in here," the other male started to scurry about in the small confines of the cruiser as he searched for where he put them.

 _Seriously….this is starting to get out of hand. Only four more months then it won't matter. Judy your killing me, honey._ He let out a groan as he slouched further into the seat, the outside world having been hidden by a thick veil of golden sand as the storm continued to howl

on.

 _Somewhere around 23:00…._

"You're definitely killing that dress," Nick murmured as he held his wife from behind, his muzzle resting against the side of her neck.

"Knew you'd like it," she ran a paw through the fur of his cheek affectionately as she looked over Zootopia from the ridge they were on.

"I like you in anything, Fluff," he kissed her neck tenderly, no one else around besides them. "Or nothing at all," he grinned slyly into her fur as he nuzzled; the view of the city was breath taking but it compared to her it was like a candle next to a fireplace.

The vulpine didn't catch it but she rolled her eyes, yet she still smiled as she patted his muzzle, accepting the compliment. Some of them had become cliché over the years, as many things did in life, but she didn't love him any less then when he proposed to her. That same ring was on her right paw, while the wedding band was on her left. Even now at this very moment it felt like it had been more than two years since they had been married, that could be because of all the chaos the last five months had brought.

"Happy second anniversary, Judith," he fox kissed his bunny's cheek, having waited all night to say that, this being the perfect moment in his mind.

"Happy anniversary, Nicholas," she sighed in content, his warm red furred arms tightening around her.

They stood on the lush ridge, the only thing separating them from the mountains sudden drop being a reinforced, steel balustrade. This didn't bother them, it was a lonesome and serene place for such an occasion. such as this. The best place to end a night as special as theirs had been. The stars were twinkling in their celestial dance in the clear heavens, only the moon's pure beauty repressing the diamonds.

The bunny officer had never been here before, and could only wonder to when her husband had the time to find out about it. It wasn't as if he was just a fox to lay about all day, but he didn't seem like one to go out and explore nature. He appeared to be a more city savvy mammal, it was though a pleasant to be proven wrong from time to time.

The bunny turned her head away from the impressive display that the cities lights made. The only light illuminating them here was the moon which was fully out, making everything around them appear to be glowing in an ethereally silver brilliance. The scenery, though a satisfying distraction, to her was only the third beautiful sight, the city coming in second. Her partner was truly the most handsome display here tonight. Even in this light he looked quite dashing in his black tuxedo, though she had to admit that his fur did look a little scruffy in it.

"Enjoying the view?" he announced in an undertone, breaking the tranquil silence. He glanced at her from the corners of his eyes till he faced his muzzle to hers, a smile tugging at his lips.

"Hmmmm, it's nice," she said in a thoughtful tone. "But I've seen better."

"Oh, have you now," his paws having gone to rub her sides since he felt her start to shiver a little.

"Mmmmhmmmm."

"Like what?" he whispered to her suavely.

"Well," she paused for effect. "You for one," his small smirk broke into a bigger grin, his arms having circled around her waist.

"I am rather striking, aren't I?" he asked rhetorically as he looked over her head to glance at the city that had become their home. "But I pale in comparison to my wife," he brought a paw up to her face, running a thumb over her jaw line lovingly, causing an involuntary shiver to pass through her.

After he pressed his lips to her forehead he remarked coolly, "You're blushing."

"I-I'm just cold," she shivered again, as though to emphasize this.

"It's winter, what do you expect," he pulled her closer to him, feeling one of her paws rest on top of his, rubbing it to warm hers up.

"Nothing, but I'd like to be in a warm bed," she shot back playfully, running her a paw up and down from his stomach to his chest, her other pressed against his hip.

"You have fur," he chuckled, being ticklish around his naval which was where her paw was stroking through his whit under shirt. "Also you have me, and I'm warmer than most beds," to prove this he pulled her more against him, her head snuggling into his sternum as she felt the warmth radiating off him.

"Yeah," she closed her eyes for a few minutes as she just absorbed the heat he was naturally providing, and kind enough to share with her. The tod rested his muzzle over his mate's head, his muzzle going down her neck a ways as he curled around her, a paw rubbing her back since the dress was a flimsy thing that did little to bat away the cold.

 _Tonight's so perfect._ Nick thought as he let out a long content sigh through his nose. _No problems with dinner, the movie was descent. And it seems that Judy really enjoyed it as well._ The predator kissed the back of his mate's head, making her snuggle even closer to him, he could practically feel her smiling against him. Her ears were lowered down happily, occasionally perking up as they caught onto sounds that he couldn't even sense.

It wasn't often that the tod was optimistic about the future, but tonight he was feeling rather cocky about where things were headed for them. He could see his wife getting the promotion she wanted in the next year or so, maybe to lieutenant. Placing her as a sergeant he believed would be a waste of her skills. For himself he could make it to lieutenant or maybe even sergeant himself, but he wasn't concerned with rank, he was happy with what he did and that was enough.

There was more than just their jobs that he felt sure would be coming around soon. Next year or even the years after they might be ready financially and relationship wise to buy a house and maybe even in that same year they could perhaps start their family. Kids were more realistically a year after they bought the house, it would make it easier if they got ready first, however he was sure that his wife and him were ready to handle kids. Something he would never tell her was that he used to babysit and help look after animal's children when he was younger. It wasn't a great job but he enjoyed it, but as time went by he discovered that as the older he got the more distrusting animal's became of a fox taking care of their young. It was their loss since once the children warmed up to him they hated it when he left.

This had been a long while back, it was time to start concentrating on the future more. It didn't matter what animal's used to think of him, because he had proved to himself that he was better than what animal's gave him credit for. At the end of the day that was all that mattered, as long as he was happy with who he was, then everyone else's views didn't matter, all except his wife's and his family. Thinking of family, he opened his eyes and looked down at the prey in his arms.

This wouldn't be the first time that he thought about it, but he pondered about what a child would look like if they were compatible. Their fur might be a mix between the two of them, or just whichever one it favored. The rest of this imaginary child he had no clue how to picture. It might be smaller than Judy, tall as her or him or just in-between their heights. Eyes were simple enough it would either be theirs or from their grandparents. Ears were a hit and miss, it could go either way as well. Their body shape was just too difficult to even come to grips with as he considered the possibilities.

It was all for naught though, simply because it was impossible naturally, and secondly because it was too expensive for them to be able to find a clinic that could fuse their traits and genes together. What had drawn the line for both him and his mate on that idea was that their child wouldn't be able to mate, they'd be infertile and they wanted their children to have the choice to either adopt or to find a mate to have children with. Anyways adoption was the best course, there were children whose parents had been killed or turned away from their families who needed to be brought into nurturing and stable homes.

 _Eight hooligans in a house at one time though…..I can't even imagine how Judy's folks managed with over two-hundred. I'll have to ask them how they did it, probably a trick to it, or something._ The fox grinned as he came up with a joke about why rabbits were all gray, something he was sure that his wife would kill him for uttering.

Another shiver from his mate broke him out of his thoughts along with a the cool breeze having picked up and clawing through his fur with icy cold talons.

"Alright, time to head back home," he said in a normal voice of tone, the moment having gone with the cold air.

"We don't have to," she said with an evil glint in her eyes. "We could turn the heating on in the car," it was obvious from her salacious tone and that little gleam in her eyes she was hinting something else entirely.

He ruffled the fur of her head as he cooed, "Is my little cutesy, scruffy, fluffy, wuffy…..ehhhhhhh," his high pitch whine came as he felt a fist collide with his stomach with force. "I…..definitely deserved that one…but what di…"

"Cutesy was the limit, everything else was overkill for you," she growled as she helped him up, but when he saw her face she was smiling.

"God almighty, how am I going to survive at your parents?"

"Why do you think I'm doing this now, by the time your there you'll be too scared to say anything like that," she said cheerfully, a little too cheerfully if one were to ask him.

"Bunnies and their little….." he jumped back as he dodged her paw from slapping his muzzle. "Little fuses, ahahahah, I said it, ha!" he exclaimed loudly. His wife just turned on her heels and headed back to the car, him trailing behind both for his own safety and because he liked what he saw.

"Perverted Fox," the rabbit mumbled after they climbed back into the cruiser.

"Gorgeous Bunny," he captured her knee in one of his paws, pressing down around the instep till he found the point which tingled in a painful tickle.

"Ahhhh, Nic…owwww, stop!" she squealed as she tried to pull his paw away and scoot away. Nick just moved the middle console out of the way so he could scoot over to better harass her.

"Oh, but I'm having fun," he squeezed a little harder knowing how much pressure to use, this not being the first time he was up to his antics.

"Stop….it's hurts," she tried to gasp in pain but started to giggle furiously at the same time.

"Why you laughing then, huh?" he let go only to go to her other knee.

"Nic…this isn't funny," she cried out as tears left her eyes from laughing so hard and because it wasn't starting to hurt.

"Hmmmm, plan worked perfectly," he purred. She was beneath him gasping for breath, her paws pushing on his chest weakly to try and keep him away. His paws were a little ways above either side of her head, so he was eye level with her.

"You jerk," she slapped his cheek with a semi-harsh slap, but from the gleam in her eyes she it was all for play.

"I'm your jerk though, so it wall works out," the tod lowered himself so he was resting on his elbows.

"Yeah, my jerk, who still hasn't turned on the heating," she closed her eyes and laid back with a loud sigh. She did though welcome the cool fabric of the seats as it cooled her off.

"Oh, Mrs. Bossy," he whined like a cub but did as she asked. It was difficult but he was able to fish out his keys from his pocket and use his tail to get the engine running, the air from the vents was cold but that would change soon. Till it did he rested some of his weight on his wife so she didn't get too cold. When he glanced back down at her he found her eyes closed, he gave her lips a peck, "Don't fall asleep yet, Carrots. I won't know what to do with your gift if you do," she cracked her amethyst eyes open, staring into his emerald ones.

"Nick," she groaned. "We agreed that we wouldn't be doing gifts for our anniversaries," if he wasn't joking she was going feel awful for not getting him something, along with being very annoyed.

"And I'm the self-centered one," he said with disappointment. "It's for both of us," his eyes had a look in them that she thought she recognized.

"I swear if it…." she started as she sat up as he got off her. Only for the words to die in her mouth as her husband handed her an envelope.

"Sorry it's not wrapped, but it's not your birthday, yet."

"This better not be what I think it is?"

"What do you think it is?" he challenged, knowing that he had done a similar gag on her birthday.

"Oh sweet cheese 'n crackers, Nick," she wanted to slap him if it was another specially made calendar, all the pictures with him posing in his bare fur.

As the fox's eyes watched her contently, she pulled the pin and opened the envelope, reaching a hand into it and finding thick stacks of paper. It wasn't the smooth coating that one normally established with magazines or calendars, but still she warily pulled the contents out. It wasn't of any use anyways because she soon discovered that she couldn't see what was on the slips. The reynard caught onto this and turned on the lights to the police cruiser.

"Nick what are these?" she asked feeling a little dumb, not truly knowing what she was looking over.

"You've seen them once before, but I stole them from your pantie draw when I was dismissed out of the hospital," he explained softly.

"I thought you were joking about these being a gift," she smiled up at him before looking down at them, but they weren't he same ones that she had found, they were different.

"Go on, read one of them," he suggested, trying his hardest to contain his excitement.

"Okay," she had spread them out over her lap and the seat around her, she grabbed the nearest one to her. She blinked her eyes a few times as she brought it closer to her face. "Dear Mr. Wilde, we are delighted to inform you, even with your previous lifestyle, that we would be honored for you to consider adopting from Northern Avenue's Orphanage…" the bunny's eyes started to gloss over, but she wiped them away furiously, not wanting to cry. She was sick of crying so much of late.

Nick meanwhile collected the forms and placed them back in the envelope, then scooted closer to his mate. She turned to look at him, still fighting the tears that were trying so desperately to escape.

"Dam it, you're making me cry!" she accused making him laugh a little, but he wiped the few that got away. "What does this mean, exactly?" she wanted clarification.

"It means that nine of the couple dozen of the orphanages that I contacted have agreed to let me adopt. If I'm allowed to adopt, then you'll definitely have no problem," he said as he felt a lump form in his throat. He already knew but it still choked him up from reading them, but right now it was the look in his wife's eyes, she looked exceptionally happy, so much that it should have been illegal.

" Whe-when ca-can we?" she stuttered as she felt her chest tighten, her breathing starting to come erratically, this time though it wasn't due to panic.

"I've contacted the ones that replied and agreed, we just have to stay in contact and fill out some more forms, but we can adopt at any ti….." he let out a grunt as a ball of gray fur slammed into him, causing him to be sprawled out on his back. Still he was able to wrap an arm around her middle. Before he could even let out a groan he felt her lips crash against his, in a wildly passionate kiss that he was soon drawn into.

A few minutes soon passed by, with them being too preoccupied in a furious muzzle lock, their tongues battling the others passionately. Even though the predator was the larger mammal his breaths were starting to run short, his bunny not giving him enough to time to breathe. Pushing her away proved to be pointless as she had become impatient and forced his arms over his head, kissing him dominantly with her smaller tongue brushing against his larger one.

Finally, when they pulled apart, he was allowed to breathe once again, but before he could give a quirky remark,"Thankyou Nicholas, thankyou so much!" she kissed him during both pauses, the fur on the sides of his muzzle darkening. It wasn't often that she was this overly affectionate, it was throwing him off since it was normally him.

"I did good?" he purred smugly, enjoying his wife's zealous actions.

"You have no idea," her tears had run dry, her eyes were now set ablaze with primal instincts. She couldn't get enough of her fox. Never before had she ever felt so attracted to him as she did now. Nothing ever before in her life had made her so happy, becoming an officer was now pushed down to being third. Marrying him being the first and she doubted anything would move that down.

"Uhhh, Judith….this isn't exactly our…erhhh" the tod grunted as his mate grasped onto his blue tie, dragging him back to her.

"I don't care, just come here you Dumb Fox!"

 _ **The End…**_

 **HI: _Wait! _****Don't flip out, keeping reading. I'm just joking, we're not even to Judy's parents yet, I wouldn't do that to you guys, or even myself. So much to go on still. Hahaha, oh god, I can't imagine some of your guy's faces when you read that. Oh priceless, sorry but I had to do it, been a stressful week with examines and finals coming up, ahh, okay I'm done laughing, god my ribs are starting to hurt so much now. Alright let's get down to it.**

 **First things first, Next few chapter are going to be fun to write up, what's next you're wondering. Well I don't like to inform you guys too much, this is a Drama after all, but this is your only one, It's Judy's Family Farm next. Should be a lot of fun writing it, trust me I got some pretty good ideas cooking up here. But I once again ask for you the readers and writers who have been with me thus far to do me a favor. 250 maybe more siblings and other crazy amount of family in the Hopps clan. Wow, going to be a book on its own just to write up all their names and ages. Not really, please god no, no, please god no. NO! No one ask me to do that, I'll flip…..well I'll flip the laptop, I mean it. XD**

 **But all serious now. Please send me in the reviews and private messages names of some of her family. Give me ideas for some OCs you guys want me to include in the Borrows, both Judy's family like favorite brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, what have you. Even some other farming animals that live there since those of you who have seen the movie, we've seen that there are other animal's living there as farmers and ranchers. I mean even Lance, my wolf OC is from there. If you guys could do this I would be very grateful to all of you. But to those of you thinking, well Reverend Archangel what's the point, if you're only focusing a chapter on Judy's parents. Well I'm going to come clean, there's going to be at least four to six at most chapters devoted to the borrows, I'm not going to crank out everything I want to do in one chapter, they're there for two weeks. Imagine all the mischief they can get into, along with dealing with Judy's parents. I mean come on, a lot of fun work to do coming ahead for me, and a lot of fun for you guys to read.**

 **Well I'm signing off now, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, it was a lot of fun working with Lance, he's a supporting character and I'll be working on more of them during the duration of this story. So please send in reviews to tell me what I did, I might of made a huge mistake or even fanfiction might have deleted a chunk out of a few paragraphs, again…..urrhhhh annoying. But till next time this is Reverend Archangel giving you hugs, high-five's, fist bumps and chocolate. If only right, ;D. Till next time.**

 **Crap almost forgot. I couldn't really put detail into Judy's dress so imagine it being a black one which goes down till an inch from her ankles, and ties around her neck. No Judy doesn't wear a bra, why? Well I've decided that females in Zootopia don't have human like breasts like some anthropomorphic artists do. In the case of Judy she has well, nipples underneath her fur. There I said it, gosh that was embarrassing to talk about. Now seriously hugs and chocolate an all, good night guys.**


	10. Cruiser Chatter

**_Chapter X_**

 ** _Cruiser Chatter_**

 _June of that year…._

A certain bunny abruptly stirred in her sleep, claws tenderly running through the soft, downy, lighter gray fur of her tummy. It wasn't wanted given that she was attempting to sleep in for an additional few hours, yet it persisted till she caught the perpetrator with a paw. There came a disgruntled humph from her husband as he was stopped from his thought to be involuntary actions.

No more than a few moments passed by till she released his wrist, where his paw returned to rest against her upper abdomen, thumb lazily drawing small obscure patterns. Letting out a sigh she pressed her back further into his chest, their respective warm gray and red furs merging mutually like pieces to a puzzle. It was comforting for the couple to be in nothing else but their bare fur, even though the fox was somehow more pawsie, if that was even possible.

Quarter of an hour supported such a claim, as the previously accused paw caressing her chest, made her wiggle in their shared embrace. Underneath her gray fur were her more sensitive nubs; the courser fur that was generally indentified as a trait amongst males made it gradually more tricky to ignore the intimate contact. It was almost as bad as the tummy rub earlier, but instead of trying to pull away, the pleasurable fondling was welcomed.

Arching her back slightly she pressed her chest into the warm paw, letting out a small whimper. "Nick….nmmp," she murmured, placing one of her smaller paws on the male's larger one.

There was no response from him, furthering the confirmation that he was asleep and had no idea that he was torturing his wife in such a satisfying way. He simply slept on, letting out the seldom grunt or whine as he dreamt on. Again the prey's paw grasped onto the predators wrist, momentarily stopping the devious bandit. All the male did was drape his tail across her shins, their bodies being hidden from the sternum down by warm bed coverings, which shifted when their limbs and bodies did.

"Nmmp…whem've plaved…enoumph?" she groaned once again, her lips pressed tightly in a pout. Again there was no response, save for if one counted the grunt the tod let out, as he pressed the side of his face deeper into the rosy pillows above his mates head.

Warily the snoozing doe let go of the dark brown paw, this time it behaved, having learnt its lesson, finally. It settled over her lower abdomen, all it did was knead a pawful of the fur. The rabbit surrendered, it was hopeless to stop the paw fully, also she didn't desire to pull away from her heat source jus to get away from it. Especially in the cooler hours of a June morning after a night of heavy raining. Besides, it was comforting to feel the larger animal's heartbeat against her back, and to hear his slow rhythmic breathing above her.

Something about all this brought a sense of familiarity and with that, thoughts of security and ease. Nothing else but her male could so eloquently present these warm feelings of content. All together these culminating emotions that she was experiencing made her let out a long drawn out, heavy sigh of admiration. Memories of what they had gotten up to hours before flashed behind her heavy lids.

Because of this they would both need a shower before they headed out to her family's farm, neither of them wanted to arouse suspicion the moment they arrived. Rabbit's senses of smell may not have been as sharp as a predators, along with some species of prey, but they could still pick things up from a dozen yards or so away. Ideally it would be better if they could spend a day or more there before they brought up the news about them being mates, that and further still being husband and wife.

The latter would be by far the most trying news to bring up, moreover to have her parent's to actually accept it, any of it would be miracle. This was all because of the cards stacking up against them already. Her parents were a little old-fashioned when it came to mates and marriage, preferably in her family it was best to be married before becoming mates since it implied that they had been intimate. Secondly there was her parent's views on interspecie unions. This was a mystery to her as she truly didn't know how her parents felt about it. Not once could she recall her parents even bringing it up in their household, or around her and her siblings.

Still if they were or weren't for it, or just neutral in their feelings toward it, they might be a little distraught finding out that she was dating out of the animal's in the prey category. There was then that her partner was a fox, rabbits' natural enemies since the dawn of time. What truly concerned her was that they wouldn't accept their union owing to Nick's past. He used to be everything her father had stereotyped about foxes, which he despised with a passion. Her mother to a lesser degree shared some of these views, but she often than not waited to learn a little about the animal before she judged.

Either way it was going to be an interesting and very busy two weeks down at Bunnyburrows. Fortunately there would be police work involved as well, so it may give both her and her partner sometime away from her family. This was all thanks to Chief Bogo, as he was the one to assign them to oversee and provide extra security for the festivals that would be taking place while they were there. The tod had voiced his complaint to her before she swayed him to look at it like she was. If things were unpleasant down there they could use it as an excuse to get away for a few hours.

Out of the blue there was loud slam from a door on their floor, this startled Judy up onto her forepaws. Her mauve spheres darted around the room frantically trying to locate what had made the noise but it was hopeless, being all but blind in the dark room. She relied heavily on her hearing, as such her ears were focusing in on the most minuscule of sounds, angling themselves till she caught onto something. However all that she heard were muffled heavy hooffalls, from some kind of ungulate as they walked across the carpet of their apartment.

"I'm going to kill that guy," Nick murmured. "Come 'ere," he tightened the arm he had around her waist, persuading her to lay back down.

"M'kay," the rabbit agreed, her heart still hammering in her chest. She settled her head back underneath her husband's muzzle. She closed her eyes, but it felt pointless as she felt wide awake. After a little yawn she mumbled, "Thought you were asleep?"

"Nocturnal, Carrots" he deadpanned, knowing that she was just a little slow from just waking up. He like ,most foxes were night animal's. With a lot of practice he had become accustomed to sleeping when she did, but he wasn't in a deep sleep till around midnight.

"What time is it?" she murmured, feeling the paw from earlier stroking around her naval, oddly enough this would lull her back to sleep, most nights.

"It's around…" she felt him lift his head up,"… threeish, or so, go back to sleep," his voice urged huskily, before he nuzzled behind one of her ears.

"How 'bout yourself?"

"I was trying, till bashed for brains came in," he growled, wiggling the side of his face into the pillow, once again fighting the losing battle of going to sleep.

"How do you know who it was?"

"I waited outside our apartment last week till he came home, he always slams his door, also same guy who uses all the hot water in the fricking mornings," he growled.

"So that's where you were," she hummed, as his paw roamed from her lower abdomen to her chest.

"Yep, just doing my own little stakeout," a small grin formed as he felt her heart beneath his paw.

"Not as bad as my neighbors," she stated as she placed her smaller paw over his

"…Don't remind me. I'm going to give him a warning, doesn't stop I'm gonna fine his ass for disturbing the peace," from his tone he was serious. He pulled his muzzle away till she felt it against the scruff of her neck, his warm breath washing over the thin fur.

"Ni-Nick?" she heard his muzzle snap shut making her shudder a little as she felt his fangs skim her neck fur. A few tense moments passed by, "Nick this isn't funny," she whispered sourly, not liking him playing like this due to it making her instincts scream at her to scream. The second mock chomp was louder but instead of waiting for a third time he caught the flesh of her scruff between his fangs in a delicate hold, chewing on it tenderly.

"Yhh lvvve ett?" he was able to muffle.

"Yes," she hissed, for some reason or the other it felt pleasurable as well. He teased her about having a biting fetish.

He released her, licking over the spot lovingly, "Taste good," he breathed as he rested his head back in its usual spot. His paw once again settled around her, this time dormant of any sort of mischief.

Him being so pawsie tonight was understandable considering as they might not be able to be so openly affectionate towards the other at her family home. Maybe a nuzzle or kiss, but they'd be in a household full of bunny's with sensitive hearing, she doubted that they'd be able to get away with what they did earlier that night. This she wouldn't openly say to her predator, he'd take it only as a challenge and this would only lead them into trouble.

"Night, Judith," he pulled the covers back up to their upper chests, having been pulled away when she awoke.

"Night, Nicholas….see you later," she purred from grinding her teeth together.

"Hmmm, I hope so," he gave a lingering kiss to the top of her head, afterwards it fell silent in their room once again.

This time it would stay that way till around five when the doe's alarm on her phone would go off, only for them to fall back to sleep again for another three hours, when the sun would be peaking through the slit in the curtain. The alarm had only been forgotten the night before, due to the bunny being more occupied with the moment she had been sharing with her fox. This was also why they would be sleeping in longer than they usually did. It was common for mates to want to sleep in for longer hours after coupling together in a night of unrestrained bliss and lovemaking.

Last night hadn't exactly gone smoothly, given that Nick hadn't been exactly in the mood, but Judy had been more than little persistent in convincing him to go along with it. Something she had learned from him was that his previous mates could never get him to change his mind when he wasn't up to being more intimate. Something about her or just how she did it always swayed him to changing his original standing. It may have been that unlike his previous mates she wasn't too pushy or demanding, or tried to trick him. If he was truly out of it, enough so that he would become uncomfortable she would lay off of him, giving him his space.

Tonight, last night and a little of that morning had been satisfying for both of them. The only regret they had was that they couldn't spend the rest of the morning snuggled up together. Partially because the bunny wanted to get back to her hometown a few hours before dinner, that and because the fox had refused to be swayed in leaving early in the morning. They had settled on leaving around eleven, and would stop somewhere along the way to pick up lunch. This wasn't the ideal plan for her, but she guessed that they had two weeks down there, more than enough time to show her partner around, and to greet her to at least some of her siblings.

 _A little pass 14:00…_

Three hours had roughly passed since they left their apartment, there was still another hour to go and the vulpine was already bored out of his mind. He absolutely detested long car rides, no matter the scenery or what type of car they were in. Last year he had taken Flash up on an offer of a ride in his street car. It had been fun and all speeding on a vacant road, but still after thirty minutes he had become bored. Even when he had been handed the wheel he had soon become bored. Guess he just wasn't a car person, he was more of a, well he didn't quite know what he was. He was into valuable metals and gems, along with other assorted shiny bits and bops.

To take his mind off of his boredom he looked out the window, seeing only endless rolling hills and fields of countryside, seldomly seeing a large farm and house. His phone was currently in his pocket, the signal coming and going randomly, making it more of a chore to go through furbook. Also he promised his mate that he wouldn't have his phone out as often as he usually did, unless it was to take pictures. For one it was one of her parent's top peeves, and that was animal's too focused on their phones to notice what was around them, secondly he wanted to use the time on their vacation to get close to his in-laws and also time opening more up to his mate.

The silence had drawn on for a good hour or so between them, so he asked, "So….how many relatives do you actually have, Carrots," she had told him this already, but he was hoping to learn more about her family.

"My parents including my siblings, or everyone?" she asked glancing at him for a moment before returning her attention to the road, though they were the only ones on it for miles.

"Hmmmm, both if that's alright?"

"It is," she nodded with a smile, glad that he was at least trying to get to know her family, her previous boyfriends had never bothered. "So there's two-hundred seventy-eight if you include me with just my parents and siblings. With all my first cousins, aunts and uncles….well last time I checked, roughly over twenty thousand."

"Holy crap!" this was the third time she had told him, but he still couldn't grasp. "And you only wanted a dozen…." he moaned as he buried his face in his paws.

"It's, not that big, some family's have roughly around fifteen thousand or more relatives," she mumbled, feeling her cheeks burn a little crimson, realizing how bizarre it must be to her mate, who grew up as a single child with only one parents.

Bunnyburrows population was almost around a billion by now if that sign was anything to follow, if there population truly went up five every second. That simply wasn't the case, the sign itself was a joke. It was true that they were explosive breeders, but it was the families who lived on the giant farms like she did that had such large families. They needed hands to work the fields and also because rabbits enjoyed having large families. The exact population was more around sixty-one million in population now, and it wasn't just all rabbits who lived out there either, there were other animals as well.

"I'm just messing, but at least out of all of your family I got the best," he teased, but he did mean it.

"Flirt," she grumbled, her grip tightening on the wheel.

"Only for you," he had turned his muzzle to her with his signature smile, emerald eyes drooping lazily. "Now tell me, why June of all months. Why didn't we go sometime in the winter when their….do you guys even have winter out here?"

"It doesn't snow," she stated. "It rains instead, but that's what it does during the four month winter we have. But I wanted to do June because of all the festivals we have…also?"

"Judy?" he questioned with a raised eyebrow. "Did you hustle me again?"

"No….well sort of," her eyes furiously trained forward, not wanting to meet his gaze even for a second.

"What, need me to talk to a couple of your boy…." his bunny looked at him with wide eyes. "You're kidding?" she looked away again, her cheeks turning crimson. "I swear, you should have just asked me," he sung reassuringly, who knows he might enjoy bragging how great she was.

"It's not just them," she mumbled. "My family always has a family reunion every ten years for three days in the second week of June. Also my last boyfriend's family are close friends to mine, so they're always invited," she mumbled grumpily and a little anxiously, hiding something still.

"You know you can tell me anything, Fluff," he said softly, offering a paw that he had set on the console.

Judy placed her own in his, their fingers locking them together. "I know," she let out a sigh, her ears lowering a little in agitation. "My last ex has been contacting me for the last couple of days, my parents having told his parents that I was coming up," she explained, wishing that her folks hadn't have told anyone. "He told me that he's excited to see me again, that he's sorry about how we broke up…he also wants me back," she groaned angrily with herself, wishing now that she told him to simply back off, instead she had been too passive, not wanting to hurt her ex, no matter how much he had hurt her emotionally.

"Guess you want your big bad predator to scare him off?" she shook her head with a smile.

"No, just want him to see that I'm married, and to someone better," Nick leaned closer and gave the side of her muzzle a chaste kiss for the praise.

"Hmmm, Sly Bunny," he hummed, this more than ever being true.

"I…I'm sorry, I should have told you earlier."

"It's fine, I can see how that's embarrassing," he waved it off.

"Not jealous?"

"Nahhh, after last night, I got nothing to worry about," her face lit up like a tomato, making him snicker, it was too easy to mess with her. "You were great last night," he purred happily.

"You weren't too bad yourself, Slick."

"I picked up on that," he folded his paws behind his head with a sinful smirk, events from the previous night fresh in his mind.

A few minutes passed them by till Judy broke the silence with what she felt was a little too prying. "So what were the names of your other mates?"

"Erhhh, well there was Jenny Locke, Silvia Hurst, Katie Rivas, Tanya Williams, Vienna Ronin, the there was Elizabeth Young," he counted them off on his fingers.

"Were they all vixen's, right?"

"Yep, you're the first interspecies relationship I've had, as you know."

"So you've told me about them, but you never told me why you….." she didn't know how to describe what happened.

"Fell apart, broke apart, split away, kicked me to the curb," he said chuckling humorlessly. "They all ended badly, what's the point in telling you about what went wrong, can't we concentrate on us?" he said calmly.

"I would like to know…so we don't make…well the same mistakes," she admitted, besides it would open him up to trust her more.

He let out a groan as he couldn't see a way to reasonably argue with her logic. "I hate it when your right," he mumbled before he let loose a defeated sigh, "You've only spilled your heart out to me," the memories from his previous relationships rushing back to him as he spoke.

"Nick, if you prefer we don't have to talk about this," the love and joy of his life breathed softly. She was one of the only animals who truly understood him, and hadn't turned away, as such she knew when it was best to not press.

"I want to show you how much I truly do trust you, Carrots," he said softly, as he stared out at the road ahead of them, seeing fields of corn, carrots and other such agricultural produce pass them by.

"You've already showed me you do."

"I haven't though, not really," he chewed on the inside of his cheek as he thought how to phrase his words. "You know little about me, while I know so much about you. It's not a fair trade," his eyes landed on the stereo.

"We got an hour before we're in your nightmarish home?" the rabbit nodded with a little hum of confirmation and a smirk. "Since we're comfortable I'll start with Vienna," he started it bluntly, no point going back now, he was determined, and he also wanted to get these things off his chest. "We met when I was eighteen, my first serious relationship. I remember that she was a good-looking vixen, lovely brown eyes, a smile that could cheer anyone up around her. She wanted to be an EMR. If I'm right she became one when I was twenty-three," he paused as he took a sip at the water from his bottle, feeling a little thirsty.

"But we were only together for eight months. Finally one day she couldn't handle being with me anymore. I was constantly smoking, I wasn't around enough, constantly late on dates and making excuses about not being able to spend time together," he rubbed his forehead in annoyance as he could practically hear her voice screaming at him. "She also didn't take so kindly to the fact that I was hustling animals. Well, one night I came back to my apartment one night and found a note on my bed, no Vienna," his tone wasn't all that flat, portraying that behind his façade that even today it still hurt.

"I'm sorry, we don't need to," the other officer started as she picked up on traces of sorrow. She fell silent as her paw was squeezed by the male's larger one.

"I need….I want to tell you. I want you to know wh-who I was before I met you," she stole a glance back to his eyes seeing that he was serious, then refocused on the road as he continued, "Then there was Elizabeth. She was my second mate, she was a few centimeters taller than me, competitive, academically driven, wore half moon glasses, intelligent blue eyes. You would have gotten along with her seeing as you two can both be shy," he grinned as he drew the comparison, never having done so before.

"I'm not that shy," the prey mumbled in an undertone, which the fox didn't catch.

"I met her one morning while I was getting coffee. She was sitting at a table by herself so I bought a drink for her and sat next to her. We kicked things off right away, but what undid it all was that I lied about my profession. Seven months later….I forgot to say, I was nineteen at the time," his mind was still a foggy this morning from the prior night's engagements.

He pressed on, "Well, half a year later I was out selling counterfeited greeting cards and other knick knacks with another fox, I think his name was actually Fox, not even joking, I think his name was Fox," he chuckled, even today he found it strange to be named after one's species.

"Either way, it was around two in the afternoon, she had left her professors lecture due to being sick that day. She found me at this false stand," he paused as he pursed his lips, deep in thought. "Don't know if I said it, but I told her that I was a contractor with a local construction company in the Tundra district. Well, anyways we got into an argument, I let some things slip, she finally discovered that who I told her I was, was a lie," she slapped me hard for that," he mumbled it sorrowfully, some, most of these were painful. He had been devastated when she left him.

"Did you two stay in touch?" the doe asked cautiously.

"What do you think," he snorted, but not with the intention of being crude. "I wouldn't have kept in touch with a jerk like me. The last I heard she moved away to DeutschsStag for an Internship," he paused as he inhaled deeply, angry at himself. The small paw in his reassured him that at least he hadn't completely screwed up his life. "I did see her before she left though. One night I was walking home, and I saw her through a window at a restaraount with another fox. She seemed happy, much happier then when she had been with me. But she locked her eyes onto mine for a second before looking away, pretending that I wasn't there," his tone was a little solemn.

"That was a little harsh," Judy scoffed and caught out of the corner of an eye that he was gazing over her.

"It was, but in the end I got you ," he said softly, glad that sometimes things worked out in life for him.

"Who was next?" she asked, feeling her heart swell a little in glee.

"This is the last one," he yawned again, becoming bored from being in the car for so long, "Next would be Siliva Hurst. She was alright, but not exactly my type. I was twenty-three when I met her. If I'm recalling this right, I met her when Finnick and I needed to get the van repaired. Someanimal smashed all our windows out," that had cost them a good chunk of change seeing as they didn't have it insured.

"That's awful, why would..." she cut herself off, knowing exactly why someone would do that to them, they were foxes, as simple as that. Nick gave a little nod, knowing that she had figured it out.

"She was one of the mechanics at this garage I took it wasn't anything great about her, she was cute though. Nice gray fur, light mauve eyes, black tipped ears, an okay figure, a bit too gruff for my taste," he shook his head commedically, this out of all his other relationships was just an unkown circumstance in his life.

"Somehow or another I was with her for nine months. Thing is it wasn't even a breakup. I guess we were just friends with benefits, that had taken it a little too far," he mumbled, still even to this day he couldn't lay a finger on what they were exactly. "I saw her about two months ago when we were getting groceries, she didn't recognize me. I find that a little insulting really, I mean who can forget a guy like me," he said with a wide grin, which must have been contagious because his partner smile too, stiffling a giggle. "You were with me too, she was the vixen wearing the oil stained blue overalls, had her cap on backwards," the younger animal nodded, as she recalled the female. It was hard not to remember considering she stood out like, well an oil stain on a rug.

Curiosity wasn't the first time that had gotten the rabbit officer in too deep, she had been like that ever since she was a kit. Always poking her nose where it wasn't wanted or simply didn't belong. Now of all times was an example of such as she suddenly asked, albeit nervously.

"You never…did you…..di-did…..urhhhhh," she stomped her left paw onto the floor mat angrily, just wishing that she could just spit it out already. "Did you love them?"

The male sat up straighter in his seat, being caught off by such a question, he tired to play it off the best he could. "Ah is the cute little rabbit feeling insecure?" he coed.

"What? Of course not!" she snapped back fluesteredly.

"Oh is that so," he purred.

Sighing in exasperation she conceded. "Just…please answer the question," she pleaded, turning to look at him with her eyes wide, ears laid back submissively.

"Don't….come on don't give me that look."

"Nick please," she blinked a few times, making her husband groan in disgust. He was a sucker when she played it cute.

Covering the right side of his face he looked away, but he made the mistake of peeking. His resolve soon fell and he mumbled. "Damn you bunny's for being adorable," she grinned a little, but was actually a little anxious about his answer. It was obvious that he loved her, but for some reason or another she was feeling very subconscious about it all. She couldn't imagine him holding another female in his arms, much less making love to them.

"I guess I was in love with them during the time, or I thought I was," he let out a groan. "What do you want me to say, Judy?"

"I really don't know."

"No, I guess I didn't love them…well I did, but it isn't like how I feel about you. Whatever I felt towards them, it's not the same as what I feel when I'm with you, talking to you or even arguing with you," he tightened the grip he still had on the paw. "I was looking for it with my previous mates, but it wasn't really there. But when we started working alongside each other, and I really got to know you, I felt what I felt for them, but it was stronger. When you returned my love, I just knew. If that even makes any sense."

"It does," she nodded. "I felt the same way about you. No one I was with previously made me feel the way I do when I'm with you. I…I can't even describe what it feels like," she shrugged her shoulders. Judy had slowed the car down a little having spotted a sign that notified them that they were a couple miles out of the main town.

The tod said confidently, "Well, we'll have time to figure it out together," the shorter mammal was watching him, listening carefully to every word he said. "But not right now, we're here," he nodded to the window, his mate's attention shooting back to the road.

Nick grinned seeing how nervous she was becoming, he couldn't deny that he was also just as uneasy as she was. They would be at their destination in the next thirty minutes, where they'd be spending the next two weeks with her family. It was what he was silently dreading for half of this year. Anyone who was married or was planning on getting betrothed was as tense as a bow string when meeting their in-laws. With circumstances as they were for them, they had every right to be a little apprehensive. It wasn't everyday a fox met his extended family who happened to be rabbits. Furthermore the father of his mate wasn't exactly one who saw his kind in the best of light.

There was no turning back now, they were here and were effectively trapped seeing as they also had to stay down here for the festivals. For once in his life he did feel completely helpless and out of control. Things were no longer in his territory of expertise; he wasn't good with the entire family thing, not like his partner. How things would play out, he didn't have a clue. All he knew about his partner's parents was the things she had told him, and also from meeting them at his graduation. They appeared to be pretty decent animal's, if a little bit overprotective of their eldest daughter, that along with being a little bit strange, but in his opinion all rabbits were a bit odd.

 _Well, I've survived the ZPA, being an insane bunny officer's partner for three years, and I've survived being shot. This should be a walk in a field._ He thought to himself, looking on the brighter side of things instead of being his usual pessimistic self. The reason being was his wife who sat next to him. Even with both of them being anxious she still had a cheerful look on her face. That gave him a little strength as he figured that if she wasn't worrying too badly about things, then he shouldn't either.

No matter what happened in the next two weeks, no one was going to tear them apart from the other. They were in this together, and he'd rather be shot again then let someone decide that they shouldn't be together. No one else's opinion truly mattered when it came down to it, it was their choice to be in an interspecies marriage; everyone else could send them strange looks, nasty remarks but as long as they had each other, they were confident that they could overcome it all.

 **HI: Yes, it feels like it's been forever, trust me I know how you feel, this week took forever to go by. So you'll all probably why I ended it like this, and did this chapter. Right? Well good, because I'm going to tell you Zootopia fans why. I did this chapter because I wanted to do a chapter focused mainly on dialogue and to put more of Nick's past out there before I forgot about it. Also I want to spend a great amount of the chapters times on Bunnyburrows, and also to go more into Judy's past, because I've fed so much of Nick's to you guys so far. We know a great amount more of our Officer Hopps from the movie than Nick, but not much about her childhood. So these will be mainly focused on her perspective. Also thanks to you writers and readers who sent me ideas, I've got some good ones and I'm going to try and incorporate them into these next four to six chapters.**

 **So to those of you wondering why I didn't just have them pull up into the driveway of Judy's family farm. I wanted to do this because I thought it would be fun, and also I'm already working on them in separate chapters, this is due to me have a lot of writers block this week due to my classes coming up for finals. I know you'll all understand that it's difficult to keep these chapters updated weekly with all this extra stress and my time being taken away by hours of studying. I didn't want you guys to go without a chapter this week, and also I found this to be fun and it also gives us more insight to Nick's life prior to Judy running into it.**

 **That's about it for me right now. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, please review if you enjoyed it, have a comment, some ideas you want to pass on to me, criticism or just pointing out my mistakes. Lastly before I sign out for the night, thanks all of you great writers, views, readers for favoring, reviewing, following and viewing this story. All of your comments have honestly made me smile when I go through them in the morning, or sneak to look in class. It's made writing this story a fun experience and I have had a great time working with the ideas you guys have given me, and I am glad that you have all been so receptive and patient with this story. Thanks to all of you this story has made 162 reviews, 274 favorites, 33,420 + views, and it has over 420 followers. You guys are great, all of you. Thanks again so much. This is Reverend Archangel signing off, Goodnight all and I hope you have a good rest of a weekend or week depending on time zones.**


	11. Hopps' Residence

**_Chapter XI_**

 ** _Hopps' Residence_**

Before they even slammed the doors to the cruiser shut, there was a large herd of restless rabbit's already waiting for them. All of whom seemed to be excited to see Judy again, seeing as she was the oldest child of their family. As such they didn't see her as much considering as her line of work kept her busy, and away from them. It was a shame that she didn't get to spend as much time as she used to, but she had decided to follow her dreams and that had led her to move out of Bunnyburrows. Seemingly it seemed to have no real affect on the relationship between her and her family. Yet from what she had heard from her mother, her father was distant from time to time when she wasn't around. Hopefully this visit would cheer him up, another one of the reasons why she wanted to visit.

The fox officer gave a low whistle as he looked up at the four story building which somewhat resembled a barn. If one included that it was as wide and long as an aircraft hangar, then sure it resembled a barn. She understood that it was quite an eye opener, for a fox who had lived in the city his entire life, he didn't seem to be feeling out of place. He seemed a little nervous but that could be because virtually all of her family was waiting for them on the drive. A few of her siblings waved to her, albeit nervously as they quickly lowered their paws and tried to hide behind someone bigger. It took her back a bit and she wondered why they hadn't already tackled her in a frenzied hug. Which would usually include them hammering her with questions, nuzzles and the usual greetings one expected from their family, at least for rabbits at least.

The silence surrounding them was a little off putting, so much so that the tod angled his muzzle to one of her ears and leaned a little closer, hiding the tip of his muzzle with a paw. He whispered, "Is this how they normally are?"

"No," she breathed back, just as confused as he was. "By now I'm trying to pry them off," she chuckled under her breath.

Pulling away from her, Nick went along with trying out his plan. He gave a small wave of the paw and they both noted that a few of her siblings noticeably shirked away again.

"Well," he sighed, his ears lowering a little, "this should be fun, hey?" he nudged her side with his elbow, making her smile weakly. It was a little disappointing to see that her family was acting so odd with her partner here. Something she planned on trying to fix while they were here.

"Wouldn't be us if it wasn't," she had started walking towards her parents. The predator hesitated for a fraction of a moment before he followed after her, feeling hundreds of eyes watching him cautiously.

"Mom, Dad!" the second oldest doe exclaimed happily when she wrapped her arms around both her parent's necks, pulling them into a close embrace. They returned the hug with the same intensity as she did.

"How you doing kiddo? Forgot your uniform?" Stu asked as he looked over his daughter; it was becoming rare to see her out of her regular these last couple of years. Today though she wore attire that her family was more accustomed to seeing her in when she was on the farm. This consisted of a red-striped pink flannel shirt with both of the sleeves rolled up to her elbows, a pair of stone-washed blue jeans, the only thing which was missing was her beige sun hat, as of this moment it was in the car with her bags.

"I'm good Dad," she said with a cheerful grin, glad to see that her father was his usual chirpy self. "I got my uniform packed in my bags," she added, then turned her attention to her mother.

"How have you been?"

"It's been well, Dear," Bonnie said with a smile that was almost uncanny to her daughters.

The daughter mirrored the smile, but it fell as she remembered that her partner was behind her. Looking over her shoulder she saw him watching them, his paws shoved into the pockets of his brownish-gray pants, thumps hooked on the outside. He was also out of his uniform, having adorned his usual attire. The green Hawaiian shirt topped off with his cerulean necktie, but he was also wearing his aviators. His attention at this time though was focused on a few of her brothers and sisters who had approached him, murmuring to each other, daring the other to say something. He watched them with slight interest, with an emotionless expression as he waited for them to do something.

Not that he saw it but James, one of her baby brothers who was around five had snuck up behind him. The fox's ears shot up as the young buck grabbed his tail, he looked over his shoulder and turned his upper body before looking underneath his arm. He chuckled as he saw the little one looking up at him with curious green eyes, more than likely never having seen a fox before today, he was only five years old so it wasn't a surprise.

"Well what are you doing, little guy," the officer asked with a friendly tone, ignoring all the stares from everyone else.

"Ummmmmm," the kid looked at his sister and his parents. "I don't know," he said innocently.

"Well that's alright, just be more gentle with my tail, alright buddy," Nick ruffled the top of kid's head, making him giggle.

"Okay," he said before he walked back over to his litter mates. Judy hid a smile behind her paw, it seemed that life was always giving him chances to show how good he would be as a father. That along with that having been a rather adorable awww moment.

One of the fox's eyebrows quirked up from behind his glasses, making her realize that she had been staring at him for the last minute or so. Wanting to brush the awkward silence that had settled aside, she motioned a gray furred paw to the other officer and addressed her parents.

"You two remember Nick, my partner?" like that had to be said, but it was polite. "He'll be with me for the next two weeks while I'm here."

"We remember him," the older doe said as she smiled at the predator warmly. "How are you doing Mr. Wilde?"

"I'm doing quite well, hope about yourself madam?" he asked with his usual smile, just one couldn't see his sleepy eyes which accompanied it usually.

"I'm fine."

"How about you Sir?" he addressed who he guessed was the head of the house.

"Well… I'm good," her father said off handedly before he asked. "Why isn't your husband here?…. it's just that you've had that wedding ring for the last two years or so, but he's never paid a visit with you."

"…..He's visiting family and couldn't make it," Judy half-lied. Her husband was visiting his in-laws right now, but they didn't know that.

"Oh, that's a shame. It'd be nice to see him one of these days," her mother said, giving it no mind.

"Ahhhh, it'd be nice to see the man who married our daughter, but heck he's missing out on all the fun," Stu said with an upbeat attitude, forgetting all about his eldest's mysterious partner. He did add in a serious tone though, "You're mother and I actually need to talk to you about this, after you two settle in."

"Yes Dad," the officer mumbled, knowing from her father's tone that it was a serious matter. It seemed that her parents might be learning about her relationship with Nick sooner than she had hoped for. There was still the hopeful chance that something would come up and they would forget about this talk, or would change their mind and ask her in a day or two.

"Hey, I just remembered, the Chief wanted me to call in when we got here," the vulpine said as he started backing back up to the car. He had no problem as the rabbit's around him gave him a wide berth.

"Oh…..okay, well could you bring our bags in, please," she said with a little bit of suspicion, not remembering their boss telling them that in the debriefing yesterday night.

"Sure, I'll only be a minute or so, you know how he's always straight to the point."

The door to the car opened then was slammed shut as the fox sat in the driver's seat, using the spare key he always kept with him to start the engine. A few moments passed till her siblings closed in on her, things instantly returning to normal as her partner had somewhat left their presence. She bit her bottom lip so she didn't let a rude outburst slip. This was more than hurtful and insulting, not just for her but to her mate as well. Sure foxes and rabbits had never gotten a long, and things were always a little edgy between the families that worked the land out here, but it still didn't excuse this.

It apparently appeared to be that her parents opening up to Gideon Grey and other foxes of Bunnyburrows to both set an example for her siblings, and to put their old prejudices aside was still a work in progress. She shouldn't have suspected so much seeing as when she was over here for Christmas that her parents refused to even listen to the idea of inviting the Grey family over for dinner that night. Maybe she was just rushing to rash conclusions before she got the entire picture, this happening to be one of her other fatal flaws. This along with relying too heavily on her gut instincts, that with the skills her training had drilled into her. These often served her well, but seldom times she would jump the gun prematurely. It was possible that this was one of those times, but she believed that her family, though making an effort to bury their prejudices and stereotypical categorization of foxes, weren't ready to allow one into their lives, much less into their home.

These were the thoughts that ran through the rabbit officer's mind as she consecutively shot back answers to the multiple questions that were sent her way. One talent she proudly held over her fellow law enforcers at the ZPD was that she had a fast collective mind. She could listen in on many separate conversations, be asked multiple questions, at the end of it all she could answer the questions and know who had asked them. Not just this but she could also single out other animal's overlapping discussions and concentrate on the one that peaked her interest. This made her a great asset when she had to go undercover with her partner, making things easier for them to learn what they needed to bring criminals to justice.

Right now though she was using this talent of hers to give various responses to her siblings, all of whom were back to their usual old selves again. Again, she would have to work on trying to convince everyone that beneath the bushy fur, the sharp fangs, pointed ears and dangerous predator appearance of her partner, that he was a good mammal, even if he himself didn't believe he was.

Her thoughts were soon set aside for another time as she had to now concentrate on answering the hundreds of questions, along with having to greet her brothers and sisters still. Most of them were generic, like; "How are you?, "What's it like in the city?, How much money do you make?, Have you ever had to taser someone?, Been in any car chases?, Where do you live?, Why don't you visit more?," they were all for the most part similar to these. But once every so often she would get a unique question that stood out from the most.

A couple of her sisters whispered to each other that they thought that Nick was handsome, for a fox at least. Some stated their shock that she was working alongside a fox, not being paired up with another prey officer, mainly these came from her brothers. Others conversed amongst themselves, some joking around. The most common that she had picked up was, that her partner and her were girlfriend and boyfriend, these were from the youngest from what she could tell. The older siblings scolded them, saying that she wouldn't be with a fox even if by some strange circumstance they could successfully breed and had to repopulate the Earth. A bit crude but she couldn't expect all of her siblings to share similar views as she did.

Speaking of which, she saw that her fox had padded back over to her, having both of their packs strapped over his shoulders also in both paws he was holding onto their other duffle bags. Atop of all this he was wearing her hat which didn't fit him at all. His muzzle broke out in an amused smirk as he heard her laugh.

"So I guess you don't want me to carry your bags?" he inquired slyly.

"Yes, please if you could," she sucked in a breath, trying to stifle her giggles but couldn't help it as another fit overcame her resolve. Nick chuckled with her, knowing that he looked ridiculous with her hat. Some of her siblings joined them, not for any other reason but because the laughter was contagious.

When they had all calmed down to a degree the female officer took her duffle bag, after she had hopped up to grab her hat. She put it on before looking back up at her husband who was watching her behind his shades.

"Come on, let's get our stuff dropped off," she said as she started heading for the entrance to the house.

"We'll catch you later Judy," her brother from the second litter commented. His name was Ford, he stood about her height, but was scrawny for someone who was constantly doing farm work. He wore green overalls which were stained with blotches of oil, he was normally the one that worked on their tractors, having a knack for that sort of thing.

"Yeah, come on guys, we still got work to do," Harrison grumbled, he was Ford's litter mate, and they were almost inseparable since birth. They didn't know for sure, but they believed that they were twins seeing as they looked almost exactly the same. Harry as they referred him to was more into being an electric than a mechanic. "Catch you later sis," he added as he started waving everyone else along, or they'd be busy all day tomorrow playing catch up.

"See you guys tonight," she waved to her brothers and the rest of her siblings who had all bounded off to their respected chores that their parents assigned to them, all based on litters and age.

"Who were they?" the tod asked as they walked into the house, still he kept his shades on, seeing as it was a little too bright for his eyes.

"That was Ford and Harrison, they're from the second litter," she explained. "There's four others, Jonathan, Luke, Mark and Tristen. Jonathan works at one of the bakeries in town, he's here weekly since he works with one of my parent's business partners. Luke and Mark mainly deal with keeping records on the inventory and Tristen works with Ford and Harrison," she explained as she led them further into the house.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" the other officer back tracked as he noticed steps leading downstairs. "You guys got a basement?"

"Sort of," the bunny said as she looked down the stairs. "At the back of the house we have the root cellar where we store what we grow. That takes up the first basement."

"The first, how many do you have?" he asked as she pulled on his paw, he reluctantly followed, his curiosity urging him to explore his mate's home.

"We have three. Four levels on the surface, and four below. We'd never be able to all live under the same roof if we didn't burrow a bit," she told him, her room was on the zero floor.

"Wow, so you rabbits do dig," he commented as he looked around the different rooms they passed. They had passed at least by now three different lounges, dozens of bedrooms, what seemed to be library or two.

"Yeah, we do," she said with a little pride.

"Some foxes still dig traditional dens with their paws, but it's not very common these days," he mumbled, wondering how an animal could have the patience to do something like that.

"The basements were all dug by hand, level zero through four came only in the last two centuries," she said as she kept track of all the rooms they passed. It was quiet for the moment since everyone for the most part were outside. She saw a few siblings in their rooms looking over books, these being the ones who had gone to college but were staying home. They were all younger than her though, she was the oldest child of her parents.

"So this house has passed down a few," his partner looked at him with a grin.

"What?" he asked, not understanding what he had said.

"A few, try more than a couple dozen. We're great at multiplying remember," she chuckled. My youngest brother, James," Nick listened with interest. "The one who pulled on your tail earlier. He's from the fifty-fifth litter. We're a small family in comparison to others. Now before modern medicines, vaccines and medical professionals the death rates were higher, so you can imagine how many generation's paws the Hopps Den passed to."

"I can't imagine what you're guys grave yards look like," he chortled.

"We're not an overly big community Nick. We don't have a birth rate of five every second. That sign we saw on the way here is just a joke," she mumbled.

"It doesn't matter, at least you don't multiply like cockroaches, or we'd really be dealing with population problems by now."

"It's just our plan in taking over the world, overpopulating," she grinned from her own joke, but the predator just huffed in exasperation.

Judy took his paw by the wrist and pulled him along so they could find their rooms and secondly so he wouldn't get lost. It was more than possible in their house seeing as most of the corridors of the house were generic, along with almost everything else. Bathrooms, bedrooms, lounges, closets, they were all made exactly the same. A few of the bedrooms were unique, like her parents who by far had the biggest room to themselves. Hers was second but that was the privilege of being older, that and because of another reason as well. It was depressing to think of it so she thought of more positive matters.

She was home with her family for the next two weeks, maybe three if the Chief needed them here longer. He wouldn't find any complaint with her if that was the case, she truly needed this. The city was great and all but the chaos of the day to day was tiring, sometimes she was surprised that she was still sane after the especially difficult days. That was where Nick came in, he showed her how to relax, to let loose and forget about work when their shifts were over. Sometimes it felt like he was adding to her stress when he would push her into situations which she would've rather avoided.

Such a scenario that had mentally scared her was the Naturalist Club. For reasons that were beyond her, she couldn't forget about it. Maybe it was because it was part of her first case, or it could have been it was the first time she had ever heard of such a place, it could also be because she wasn't exactly comfortable with seeing animals bare to their fur and out together in a public like setting. Another reason was that she had caught a few glimpses of Nick undressed for the first time. He had jumped into the pool that the club had, not before he undressed in front of her.

Just thinking about this was making her blush a little, not because he had embarrassed her, but she had actually been checking him out when she stole a look or two. He was just as handsome today as he was four years ago, it was also where she discovered that she was alright with interspecies relationships. The first time she had considered to actually be in one, with the same fox that had made forty-eight hours seems like a punishment for the next eternity. She now considered spending that much time with him to be welcoming, at least for now. They had only been together for two years, she wondered how far they would actually be together.

The rabbit shook this thought away, it was unreasonable to be considering that things wouldn't work out between them. It could happen, it always could but as her mate had told her, it was best to not worry oneself with these kind of dumb thoughts. What'll happen will happen, as he so blandly put it one night, if her memory served her right, it was after they had made love. Sometimes these kind of thoughts and questions would just slip from her, it had killed the mood a few times but she couldn't help it. She was usually the cheerful and optimistic mate in their relationship, but when it concerned them she was often times very….glum about it.

This was thanks to her prior partners before her husband, not that they had ended in the heartbreak like his has. They were more out of anger, most of them were because both her and her boyfriend were at each other's throats and fed up with the other. She had one that had simply ended it on good terms, and they still talked, infrequently but it was better than nothing. The others were awful, she had cried but not because she was sad but because she was angry and frustrated with herself and the bucks she had been with.

She had told Nick about these breakups and he had been very understanding and very supportive. He was a classic example of things never working out but he had still told her it wasn't her fault. His warm words had cheered her up when she told him, but in a way all the breakups were partially if not half of her fault. Her first boyfriend had told her that he dreams were too out of reach and tried to force her to do something else. The second had been because she was too tomboyish, also she was in a phase where she was too domineering. Third was the better break up, things simply hadn't worked and they just agreed to be friends. The fourth was just a mess of lies and the buck cheating on her. The last few had been similar to the others, they had all ended on bad terms. Why she felt so frustrated with herself was because it was her in the end. Her dreams, expectations and desires from a male hadn't ever been met.

Looking over her shoulder she looked at her husband, who still had his shades on. Things had all worked out at the end of the day. She finally found someone who was both supportive of her beliefs and dreams, also someone who listened to her and was great to be with. The rabbit's amethyst hues met the prescribed lenses, making it difficult to tell if he was looking at her. It was more than likely that he wasn't, seeing as he was looking at all the different details of the house. She smiled before she looked ahead, her room was getting close, they were maybe six rooms away so they'd be there in a few moments.

"You've been quiet, Carrots," the fox remarked as they stopped at a door, the last one being further away than the rest.

"So have you," she quipped back as she opened the door, walking into her old room. Everything being as she left it since Christmas.

"Well, we'll have to work on that," he pushed the door closed with his hindpaw, before walking further into the room. He shuffled the shoulder strap on his shoulder, but placed her pack onto the floor. "Nice room," he commented as he walked past a shelf, wiping a finger over the top of it, not finding any traces of dust.

"It's not much, but it's my room," she smiled as she dropped the bag she was carrying and tossed her hat onto the corner of a chair where it landed and stayed.

She suddenly flopped onto her bed with her arms out wide, then proceeded to bury her muzzle into the soft blue pillows."Mmppphhhhhhh."

"That good huh?" her reyanrd asked as he grabbed onto one of her feet and squeezed it. He sat on the corner of her bed, with an easy going smile, not that she could see it.

Rolling so she could lay on her back the bunny crossed her arms over her middle, looking at her partner happily. "It beats the car seats any day," she hummed.

"Right, right," she watched him take off his sunglasses, blinking a couple times before rubbing of his eyes.

"You okay?"

"Yeh," he yawned, slouching a little. "You know light hurts my eyes," she understood this well enough, seeing as when he graduated he bought a specially made pair of aviators. Something she hadn't known about red foxes were that unlike other foxes their eyes were sensitive to light. Also why their light at their house turned on with a timer, starting dim till it was to a setting she was more comfortable with.

"Tired?" she sat up, sitting close enough to him so that their legs were touching.

"Very. Couldn't sleep after that dick slammed his door. But last night was worth it," he kissed her cheek, seeing as that her blinds weren't drawn open. He blinked a few times before he asked, "So where's my room?"

"The one next to mine," she got up and walked over to a door that he thought was her closest. After opening it, he saw another room. This made him grin carnivorously, making Judy's muscles tense. It was a natural reaction for some prey when they saw fangs, especially common amongst rabbits.

"As long as your parents don't check up us when we're sleeping," he said as he stood up, padding over to her, his voice smooth and full of unsaid ideas.

"Why do you think I asked them," she grinned. He wasn't the only sly one in their relationship.

"God, I love you," he purred, she thought he was going to hug her but headed into the other room, dropping his bags before collapsed onto the bed.

 _Dumb Fox_. She thought as she walked over to her partner.

"Come on Wilde!" she shoved him playfully. All he did was let out a sigh and snuggled deeper into the pillow. The rabbit's eyebrows rose a little. "You're actually asleep?" she gawked before giggling, but knew it would be useless to try and wake him up now.

Judy headed into her room, and grabbed the sunglasses the fox had left and placed them on the other rooms bedside table. Before she left and close the door she gave the side of her husband's cheek a smooch. Not that being called cute bothered him as much as it did her she couldn't deny that he looked as such when he was asleep. He looked so peaceful when asleep, not something she wanted to wake him up from. Even when he was in a muzzle and asleep he still looked handsome and that wasn't because she had a thing for muzzles.

She despised them just as much as he did, but unlike him she hadn't had a traumatic experience with them. Her partner had though gotten better at handling his reactions with them since they started their at home therapy plan. He hadn't been fired as he had been evaluated to be able to function with using the contraptions and was also carrying them on his utility belt as well. Their chief hadn't shown any emotion to having Nick stay, but he did express that he was glad that he didn't have to fill out paperwork and reports explaining why he had to fire his only fox officer. Things at work were going well for both of them now since he had gotten over his fear of muzzles, for the most part at least. There were days that he would freeze for a moment or two but he hadn't completely shut down like he used to.

These were some of the random thoughts that popped into Judy's head as she walked back into her own den. The rabbit officer put these matters behind her as she proceeded to draw her blinds open, letting the warm rays of the sun soak into her fur and wash over her room. There were a few particles of dust that were suspended in the air, the light illuminating them. This caused her to smile, seeing how nice it was of her family to look after her space when she wasn't there. Something she missed about this place was the peace and quiet, something she couldn't find in the city. It was strange to think that even with such a large family it was still so quiet in the house. At least for now. It was chaotic in the mornings, around lunch, dinner and also when her other siblings would be returning from school. Not that they would be now, it was summer and they had summers off from school.

That was something she didn't particularly miss, she couldn't imagine having nothing to do for three months these days. She thoroughly enjoyed her work at the ZPD, being away from that for three months would make her irritable. That was unless she had a family to spend it with, especially Nick. It wasn't like she was clingy to him, or even obsessive over him. They still acted as friends, just that they did things that best friends wouldn't exactly do under normal circumstances. Mating was one, and also just the way they would let each other's paws roam. They did need their time away from each other, just space now and then which they would normally occupy with their friends or time in solitude. Nick needed this more than her, seeing as he was a male who had lived in solitude most of his life. She didn't like being a lone like he did, not having anyone around her or to talk to just seemed a bit off to her.

A lot of things that her partner did or used to do had been foreign to her when they first started getting to know each other better. This started when he became an officer and had become her partner. They had found a lot about the other for the first year working alongside each other, that as well as growing closer together. One such thing that he had done that puzzled her was he would get out of bed some nights and go off for a jog or walk for an hour or so.

Being the curious rabbit she was, she had followed him one night, a few weeks had gone by since she had discovered this strange habit and she had finally decided to figure out what he was doing. All he did was go a certain distance from their appointment and then run back, well after she had scared the crap out of him when she bumped into him. After asking him what he was up to he had walked them back to the apartment, just explaining to her that it helped him sleep at night. Their morning runs had ended that habit though. It was just because he was lazy about his exercises as such he had a lot of left over energy at the end of the day. This had been roughly two and half years ago, and there were still many things that he did that she couldn't quite grasp.

The strangest was that he would organize the silverware draw in such a strange order. He had to have the knives, spoons, forks and other such utensils stacked and fitted into each other perfectly. It wasn't creepy but when she had asked him about it he didn't honestly know why he did it, or when he started. Other than that was he was an order freak. He hated having different colored shirts stacked together in the same pile, or even different types. White sleeveless shirts, and white undershirts couldn't be together. Something she had found out when she had done his laundry and found that he had thrown all his shirts out and refolded and restacked them. He hadn't even been angry either, just asked her to be more careful.

It was matters like this that she couldn't quite understand but she loved her fox all the same. There were habits that she had which also puzzled him, one that he often brought up was her stroking her ears. No one in her family, that she knew, did this. That and also she was a clean freak, cleaning her gear took hours some days seeing as she got paranoid that there was crime and gunk where there wasn't any.

Suddenly knocking came from her bedroom door, making her get up from where she was sitting on her bed. It came again before she reached halfway there and this time someone called.

"Judy, are you in there dear?"

"Yes Mom, doors unlocked," she said as she stood a meter or so from the door.

The door opened and her mother walked in, wearing the pink dress which all of her children had come to see as her usual attire.

"You two settled yourselves in?" she asked chirpily.

"Yep, we're all," the daughter lowered her voice. "Sorry, Nick's sleeping in the spare room."

"Is he alright?" Bonnie asked, as she waved her daughter to follow her.

"He's fine, but we had a long night," she started to explain the lie she had made up with her mate earlier as they entered the corridor. "The chief had us to a stakeout last night at the Nocturnal District. Nick's a night fox so it messed up his sleeping routine. He'll be up in a few hours or so."

"Alright, glad that he's settled in so easily," the mother gave a small smile. She led the two of them to the kitchen which wasn't too far away from where they were in the house.

A few minutes passed them by till Bonnie broke the silence, "Sorry about how you're father acted earlier, how everyone acted," she said her voice returning to a normal pitch, seeing at they were in the kitchen now. Roughly around twenty of Judy's brothers and sisters were working on food and preparing for dinner. They had to get early starts on all the meals, most days it seemed. Even without leftovers there were still a lot of mouths to feed.

"It's fine, I know you guys still aren't comfortable with predators yet….or Nick," she expressed.

"No it isn't," the other doe walked over to where one of her children was having problems with kneading dough for some biscuits. "You need to try and get all the air out of it, Justin," she explained to him as she showed him. "Use your palms more, not your knuckles."

"Ohhhh, right. Thanks Mom," the buck who was roughly fifteen mumbled, this being the third time today she had to correct him.

The mother ruffled the fur between his ears before retuning her attention to her eldest child. "It's isn't alright Judy. Nick is a guest and he shouldn't feel unwelcomed when he gets here. Honestly I raised everyone better with how to treat guests," she went over to a clear part of the kitchen, pulling out a chopping tray and a knife, pulling over some vegetables and getting to work on them.

"It's not your fault," Judy said as she leaned back against the counter, elbows resting on the tops of it.

"No?" it was more of a statement. "I don't understand how you're so accepting of predators and Nick as your partner after what Gideon did when he was a cub," she mumbled before she smiled proudly. "Look at you, after how much your father and I worried about you, you've proven to be quite a great young doe."

"Thanks Mom, that means a lot," she said as she felt a small lump settle into her throat. Hearing her parents tell her that they were proud of her always made a unique feeling swell in her heart.

Bonnie asked carefully, "How has Nick been since he…well since he was shot?"

"He's fine, been acting strange here and there bu…"

"Strange how?" the mother interrupted. "Sorry, I'm just….I still worry about him working with you," she confessed.

"Mom, I trust him with my life, that should be enough for you and Dad to trust him," Judy mumbled.

"I know, but…..he's bigger than you, and he's a predator," Bonnie liked Nick, truly she did, but she still worried that some animal might use Night Howlers again. If her daughters partner went savage from it and attacked her, she couldn't stand the thought.

"I know, I know," her mother wasn't the first one to remind her of this fact. "I understand the risks with working with him, but I know him better than anyone else, and I know that I'm safe with him," the officer steered the conversation away from this topic. "He's has been acting fine since he was injured, he's a little distant and moody at times, but he's okay," she sighed, personally it hurt that her mother was still so skittish around her partner. "Once in a while though he'll wake up with strange nightmares," she carried on.

"He still living with you?"

"Yeah, Nick's still living with…with us," she almost said me, but that would imply that she wasn't married, or to who they thought.

"Is…..isn't that a bit awkward for your husband and you?" older amethysts locked onto younger ones, with a worried expression.

"No…..not really. Nick's normally out and about and rarely uses my apartment these days, he's been planning on buying a house and having kids," she gave another half lie.

"Still, it must be uncomfortable to have him living with you two?" her mother pressed, trying to see if she could uncover any resentment or any emotions displaying that Nick was actually being manipulative.

"It's fine, trust me. Anyways, I've known Nick for a while now. He's also my closest friend, I'm not just going to kick him out. We've…..we've been through too much to do that," she breathed.

"Alright, alright, I understand. Just be careful around him, promise me that," the mother groaned. "From what you've told us, he hasn't exactly been a good animal for most of his life."

"I'm always careful," Judy chuckled. "But as I said, if I can trust him, you two should do the same. Give him enough time and you'll see what I see in him," Judy pushed herself off from the counter.

"Maybe I'm just worrying too much," Bonnie growled to herself as she pulled over a cabbage and sliced it in half.

"No, you're being my mother, your job is to always worry about us," the younger doe placed a paw on her mother's shoulder, giving it a tender squeeze.

"It is," she agreed. "We'll try to Judy, but it's hard for us," the mother placed a paw over her daughters. "Dinners at seven tonight, will Nick be joining us? Will he even eat what we eat?"

"He'll be joining us and he eats whatever I eat. He's stubborn about eating rutabaga though."

"I bought some bugs for you, can you two share till I buy some more."

"Yeh, we'll share." Judy nodded as she started back away, she was starting to feel tired herself. "I'm going to go take a lie down…..so seven right?:

"At seven, I'll send Joana to wake you up later," Bonnie looked over her shoulder, seeing for herself that her daughter looked exhausted. "You look exhausted, go on, I've yapped your ear off for long enough."

"Alright," she headed out of the kitchen before running a paw through the fur of her forehead. She was exhausted, and she was also a little sore in her more intimate areas, this all being thanks to her husband.

 _Just need to lie down for a bit…..nothing to worry about._ The doe thought to herself as she let her paws take her back to her room. _At least they don't suspect anything, going to be a big shocker when they find out though._ She thought as she opened the door to her room, having gotten there in what felt like no time. Her head was soon nestled into the pillows of her bed, her eyes being hidden behind heavy lids.

 _Hours later…_

The barn of a house was once again in a state of tranquil calm that day. The only sounds being the seldom creak of an old floor board, or the soft murmurings of Judy's brothers or sisters as they conversed amongst themselves. These were starting to die down as well considering that it was almost twenty-three hundred. For the most part the younger siblings were asleep, it was the ones who were over sixteen that were still up. After so many years of living under the same roof, they were experts at being silent, well most of them.

There was a loud thud and a crash as a bunch of books fell from a shelf, more than likely on the third floor. The rabbit officer heard three of her brothers voices cursing at each other, more than likely it was Bill, Jean and Willow, seeing as those three had deep voices and couldn't whisper to save their life. They were from the ninth litter, being a year younger than Ford and Harrison. The three would often than not be the best of friends, but all three of them worked in the metal shop that they had, if something went wrong the entire family would normally be able to hear it. Their father normally would break it up when things went too far, but this was very rare. This was because the three would be best buds after an hour of cool-off.

One of them hissed out shush and silence soon fell back onto the house. Judy let out a sigh as she laid her head further back into the welcoming cushion. It was hard enough to sleep as it was tonight, she didn't need to be disturbed by her siblings arguing. Sure she loved every single one of her siblings to death including her parents, but they were a handful, sometimes at least. What had just occurred was a great example of when she wanted nothing more than to tranq her siblings, if only so she could try and sleep.

The reason for her predicament tonight was that she was so used to sleeping with her husband. As things were and because it was their first night here, he was in the room connected to hers. It was painful to know that not even five meters away her partner was more than likely asleep, seeing as after his shower after dinner he had hit the hay and was soon asleep again.

 _Lazy fox….stupid warm red fur…..falling asleep so easily._ Judy thought as she tossed and turned to try and get comfortable. Letting out a loud growl in defeat, it became apparent that sleep wasn't going to be finding her anytime soon. Propping herself on her elbows her eyes found the dimmed neon white numerals of her alarm clock. It was only a little past twenty-three hundred. Groaning once again the bunny collapsed her face into the pillows, the desire to scream into them almost too tempting to pass up. She had turned the lights out only fifteen minutes ago, to her it felt as though two hours or so had passed by.

 _Think of something else, don't think about Nick…I said don't….urhhh!_ Her thoughts were just as annoyed as she was. _I should had told my parents tonight over dinner._ Rolling onto her back, the bunny's eyes roamed the room before landing onto the door across from her. She almost let out a shriek as there was a dark figure coming out of the dark, but stifled herself. Her eyes sight was awful in the dark, but she could recognize that bushy tail and walk the figure had.

"Nick, don't do that," she laid her head back, trying to relax so the hammering in her chest stopped.

"Don't do what?" he asked sleepily, stopping at the foot of her bed.

"Sneaking in here, gods you nearly gave me a heart attack," she saw his eyes, only seeing the light that they reflected. Still she could see that they were scrunched up enough that she could tell he was smiling.

"Can't have that," the fox breathed as he sat at the edge of her bed. "Who else would I annoy," he gave a yawn that held a slight whine to it.

"You'd figure something out," she sat up, seeing that he was just sitting there, his head was angled down at his paws that were settle don't the cold wood floor. "Nick, what's wrong?"

He let out a sigh before he faced her. "Sorry if I woke you, but I can't sleep," he confessed.

"No, it's alright, I can't sleep either," she pulled the blankets off her body, only dressed in a pair of loose fitting boy shorts. It was a little hot tonight but that wasn't the reason why she wasn't wearing a shirt. She was more comfortable sleeping in her bare fur the majority of the time, but it always felt strange to sleep like this here.

"I know, could here you making a fuss," he breathed with amusement. "What's wrong, Carrots?" he crawled up the bed till his muzzle was level with her, settling next to her.

"It's hard sleeping without you she hummed happily as she felt his arms wrapping around her.

"Oh, poor Mrs. Wilde can't sleep without her fox sized plush cushion," he teased, but gave her an affectionate squeeze, pulling her closer to him.

"So why you up then, Slick?" she nuzzled her head underneath his chin, nibbling his neck a little as she breathed in his scent.

"Same as you, but I just woke up from a nightmare," she could tell from his voice that he was exhausted.

"Was it the Dystopia, or you going savage?" she asked, the nickname they had given this opposite society.

"I wasn't the one shot….you were," he grumbled, not wanting to tell her about it.

"Oh, Nicholas," she cooed, knowing full well what he had imagined, having lived through it herself in real life.

"I woke up after I found out," he sighed.

"These are becoming too frequent of late. What's stressing you out so much?" one of her paws roamed up the back of his neck still she found the itchy spot he liked her to scratch, it was behind his left ear.

"I don't know. I guess it's just this, our relationship and how you're folks are going to take it."

"Everything's going to be fine," she reassured. "What'll happen, will happen."

"Hmmmm," he purred softly, both from her touch and because he agreed. The bunny continued to scratch the weak spot on his head till his tail was wagging behind him happily. This caused her to giggle, always finding how his tail responded to positive emotions entertaining.

"So, Carooooots. What's our plan tomorrow?" he murmured as he pulled her closer, a paw playing with her tail tenderly, retuning the affection.

"I want to show you around here, maybe show you some of Bunnyburrows. Maybe tell my parents about us if it feels right," she felt his muzzle press against the side of hers, nuzzling her affectionately.

Sounds great, how many of your siblings did I meet?"

"Around sixty-five," he groaned into her neck as he turned his attention to it. Her fur was thinner here and she was more sensitive to touch as well. He started to kiss and lick her here, making her breathing become slugged.

"Hmmm, still I fell lucky to have gotten the best," she rolled her eyes, before his lips met hers in the dark, making her moan softly in the kiss as he squeezed her rump.

When they pulled away she gazed into where she thought his eyes were. She could feel his war breath against her lips, but even with him being so close she could only make out a dark figure. His scent was filling up her nose, and she could tell that he was experiencing the same thing as he started to pant. This was exactly how last night's endeavors had begun, it seemed that they hadn't shaken it off yet.

"We shouldn't," she breathed, as she nestled into the warmth his neck provided.

"Hmmmm, would be fun to try and get away with it," he ran his claws from her rear up to her ears, then begun to stroke them lovingly. He knew that she was right so he respected her wishes and didn't press on it.

"Doors are locked," she purred as she felt sleep finally start to take hold.

"That's good, means I can stay tonight," he closed his eyes and instantly fell off to sleep as his exhaustion finally took a stronger hold.

"I guess that's good night," she chuckled as she felt him slump against her. She gave the underside of his muzzle an affectionate lick of her own. "Wouldn't want you anywhere else, Dumb Fox."

 **HI: Another chapter as promised these are now a weekly update coming to fanfiction every Saturday night. I enjoyed this chapter, it was a nice intro into Bunnyburrows, not too much drama, not too much lovely dovey stuff, though I love writing tons of romance and fluff. I know that these last few chapters have been very calm of late and somewhat predictable but don't get comfortable, this is drama, and I did promise twists and turns that would be coming, and trust me they are. In the next six chapters there will a lot of drama and intense stuff coming. Now though let's enjoy Nick and Judy exploring Bunnyburrows and learning more about Judy and relationship with her family, and her struggle with trying to get them to accept Nick.**

 **This is shorter than my usual ones but that's because I've been typing since two this afternoon, or for those of you on military clock, fourteen hundred. I was at three thousand words, and I have made it to eight thousand. Why, because I had a lot of mishaps this week with my computer, finals and other stuff getting in the way. I though promised to get these up every week, so if you notice problems or a lack of actual chapter please inform me and I'll try to spot out the mistakes I made and update this with the corrections.**

 **Before I go I just want to thank all of you guys who sent me PMs and sent reviews that had ideas for names and story content. Also if you noticed that names you guys didn't suggest weren't in here, don't worry, they'll be here. I love your ideas but I'll be adding them as we go along. Also to those of you wondering what happened with Nick's muzzle business, well he was able to work with them and wasn't fired. As is mentioned in the chapter. He still has problems with them, but to deal with this he wears them from time to time. Nick's nightmares come from stress and also since he has been shot. Him being injured like this has left some mental scaring and post traumatic stress. Also hope I captured Judy's parents accurately. Till next time this is Reverend Archangel, hoping a happy mother's day for your mother and to those of you who are mothers.**


	12. Among the Scrutinizing Crowd

**_Chapter XII_**

 ** _Among the Scrutinizing Crowd_**

"…..thought that it was a joke," an old tiger whispered.

"…..fox as an officer? What were they thinking?" grumbled an old goat who glanced over at the two officers.

"….he's Judy's partner, right?" a bunny whispered to her friend, who replied. "Think so, that's what I've been hearing."

"…I don't mind foxes, but having them as police, it's…..it's…..wrong!" some-animal else growled, more than likely a badger

"…that they're a couple. I swear that's a rumor that I've heard," another female whispered excitedly to someone.

"….Officer Hopps. Are you sure?" another male wondered aloud.

"I can't imagine how a rabbit made it in the ZPD. I mean seriously, they normally take in rhinos, wolves and those sort of prey and predators. I also heard that she was the best of her class…..you don't think they took it easier on her than the others, do you?" a female questioned.

"…..collars on predators, whatever happened to that idea?"

It was days like this that the one and only rabbit officer, formerly known as Judy Hopps wished that she was deaf, or in the very least didn't have such sensitive hearing. The side conversations and comments that she caught onto on the regular day to day was enough to drive any mammal insane, or to make them cringe in disgust. Honestly the things she heard about her partner, predators and just foxes in general was unpleasant. How he found the strength to be able to put up with this for so many years, baffled her. It seemed inconceivable that any animal had to hear this, much less to hear this said their faces on a daily bases.

True, she heard nasty remarks about her kind as well, considering that they were seen as the small and cute bunny's who lived relatively sheltered lives. It wasn't wrong that a majority of them took jobs as farmers and phone operators, or just jobs that they as a species considered to be safer and out of harm's way. Though with this being true, it didn't make it any easier to hear it, or to earwig in on it. Mainly because it proved some of the comments that Nick had made a while back were true. The one that stuck with her the most was something he had said before he left for the academy.

 _"Because, that's who I am to them. That's how society will always see me."_ These words echoed in her thoughts, his voice just as clear as though he had just uttered them. This in turn directed her mind to the memory where Nick had said this.

 _"…...just let any fucking pelt in," the male deer at the cashiers mumbled when he thought they were far enough away, but Judy heard it._

 _The off duty officer was about to turn on her paws and give that mammal a warning, but a red furred arm wrapped around her shoulder, halting her. It wasn't forceful but it was enough to persuade her to keep pace with her friend. This though didn't stop her from sending a death glare over her shoulder at the buck who was watching her with wide eyes. Possibly this being the first time he had realized that she was an officer, the uniform being a dead giveaway. Since she was being escorted out of the store this would have to do._

 _The rabbit focused what was in front of them once again, giving a little sigh of frustration. It felt as if some days the world really was as broken and twisted as her predator friend claimed it was. Speaking of which, her sharp eyes looked up at his face, discovering that he was wearing his usual bored expression as he too looked ahead of them. His ears were meanwhile titled back with what she had come to recognize as him being annoyed. She opened her mouth as though to say something, to make some kind of remark, but she soon closed it, deciding that it would be better to wait and see what he had to say._

 _A few minutes passed the officer and the soon to be rookie by as they made their way back to her police cruiser. Pad and padless paws making their way across the hot asphalt, enough so that it was rather soothing to the paw as it absorbed the heat. It wouldn't last long seeing as the sun was starting to set, casting long shadows from the steel giants and other such buildings that littered the city. If they had gone without the cashiers uncouth remark, then it could have been considered to be quite a normal evening for the two of them. As the doe had learned from a young age, things didn't always work out, but it was up to her to push through it and be content with what she was given. Something that Nick had learned much earlier than she had._

 _The same predator had taken his arm off of her as soon as they left the store, his thumbs now shoved into his pants pockets, with that same unemotional look painted across his muzzle. It was a look she had come to acknowledge that was his habitual one, often seen as much as his signature smile. But there was something to this look that she hadn't seen before and it was in his eyes, a glimmer of something that she couldn't quite place._

 _"You must really be in love with me to be staring at me, Carrots," her friend broke the silence with a teasing tone of voice._

 _"Keep dreaming, Slick," she smiled a little as she watched him return to his usual flirty and teasing self._

 _"If that was all it took then you'd be mine," he smiled widened, his fangs being displayed without looks of fear or anger. He added, "Trust me, you're too great to pass up."_

 _'I wonder if he's being serious or if this is just harmless flirting?' Judy though to herself as they stopped outside of her cruiser, but the fox decided to lean up against it instead of getting in. Before he did though he placed the paper bags full of what she had bought by the door, something she had forgotten about was the groceries. Shaking these kind of thoughts out of her mind she put the bag she had down too, then leaned against the side of the car alongside the fox. A few moments passed as she tightened the grip on her resolve to ask him about what had occurred a few minutes ago. She'd never hear it from him, he'd shrug it off like it simply hadn't been a thing._

 _Surprising the doe the vulpine said, "Not ever buying food from that store again ," he said softly. He turned his angular face to hers, "This about branch head?"_

 _"Yes," she mumbled, was it that obvious that she was going to question him. "So…..do you get that often?"_

 _"Mmmhmmm. Most time's it's behind my back. It's not often that I get such a lovely compliment to my face," he chuckled._

 _"He…..he just called you a…you know," she didn't want to repeat that word, knowing what it implied and understanding how it was used._

 _"I know, such a lovely guy, right?" he shrugged it off, as though an animal had commented about the weather. That being said it was pleasantly warm outside today in Savannah. Though it was starting to really cool down as the sun was setting, but other than that it had been a bright semi cloudy clear skies kind of day, accompanied by a gentle breeze._

 _" It doesn't make it any more right for someone like him to call you that. Nick, how can you just brush that off?"_

 _"Same as you did when everyone told you, you couldn't be an officer."_

 _"Tha-that's different. That's just animals putting down my dreams, it-it's not being specieist! Is this how you've always been treated?"_

 _"Ever since my arm went ka-snap," his voice had become dry, not liking how she was trying to pry more into his childhood, just his life in general._

 _"But…..Nick how do you put up with it?" she asked, her voice falling down from what she felt was justifiable anger, to a more down-curious one._

 _"Because, that's who I am to them. That's how society will always see me. Nick Wilde, the con-artist_ _ **fox**_ _, another vile vulpine. A fox, a stupid fox that no one wants around," he said this with wild gesticulations. " You know, they can see me however they want, I know who I am. I'm that fox whose going to fail in the police academy."_

 _"Nick you won't fail, I bet you'll be the top of your class."_

 _"Pfffft, don't dream so hard, you'll only crush them," he mumbled, looking away._

 _"Why do you always put yourself down so much?" she sighed as she looked up at his face._

 _A few tense minutes crawled by, but finally the predator let out a sigh and said, "We are nothing more than what people doubt about us and who we believe we are. I'm a fucking pelt, and I'm just me," Judy cringed from his deadpanned tone. He wasn't done quite yet. "Just your average run of the mill fox who tried so hard to be something other than what society wants and believes him to be, " he said this as he looked down at her._

 _His emerald eyes had become void of any signs of emotion as he said these words. Yet, there could still be seen in his eyes the faintest of hints of sorrow, cruelty, anger and just pure acceptance of how he had been treated by everyone around him. He let out another sigh before he looked toward the sunset, his fur appearing to be darker from the warm light, making him appear especially handsome. Yet at the same time it made him appear to be younger, as though she was getting a glimpse at the younger him, one full of optimism. Just maybe, a fox who thought he could be anything if he truly put his mind to it._

 _Without understanding what she was doing, one of her paws took a hold of his wrist. He raised an eyebrow as he returned his attention back to her. Her throat had tightened a little, but she finally said with a tender voice, "I don't think that about you, I think you're a great guy."_

 _"It's hard to look passed these fangs and claws….to look passed what kind of predator I am," he slowly pulled out of her hold, but surprised her by intertwining their paws together. His eyes were focused on where their flesh and fur touched, not really an intimate touch but it felt nice to be able to touch another animal in this way again._

 _"Doesn't make you a bad animal, or just a predator. You're so much more than a fox, Nicholas," she smiled as he looked back up at her with a grin._

 _"I'll always just be another fox, but I'm_ _ **your**_ _fox," he squeezed her paw before pulling his away._

 _"Not on your life, Slick," she gave him a playful shove, knowing what he was implying._

 _"I'll win you over eventually, Carrots….."_

Back then it had only been a joke between the two of them, never would they have imagined that they would be where they are now. Perhaps neither of them had exactly taken it as a joke, maybe the feelings and desires they had were always there. It had though withered away when he was sent away for a year, more than enough time for her to meet someone else, but she had focused more on work than relationships. However whatever they might have felt for one another more than likely withered away while they were apart, but eventually it started to grow and flourish when he was working alongside her, and when he had moved in.

Still, even within the short time that they had known each other, so much had occurred. Three years as law enforcer partners, two of which they had been a married couple and within that time they had moved, solved numerous cases, planned on adopting children together. This didn't seem much now that Judy thought about it, but it felt like it, to her at least. But her thoughts were starting to escape her. How she had let them get so far away from her she didn't know. What had her originally bring so many of these memories and thoughts about was her husband's morbid explanation about how society saw him and in-turn his kind. The very same could be said about how animals generally saw rabbits as well.

The doe brought her focus to her mate who was walking next to her. If society was different they could be holding paws without having to worry about being judged or ridiculed. It wouldn't be out of place if they did now, friends often did it, but there would be one animal that would see it and make a big deal out of it, something they wanted to avoid till her parents knew.

The two officer had only been in Bunnyburrows for three days, but with every passing hour that they-she delayed telling them it felt as though a day had gone by. It was no one else's fault but her own. This being mainly due to the reason that every time she tried to tell them she would panic and go on about something that wasn't even related.

 _"Take your time, Judith. You'll know when its right to tell them."_ Nick had whispered into her ears the night before as he massaged her shoulders, simultaneously he furnished her neck with love bites and licks. Which she had feebly tried to fight against but he had eventually won over, or so he thought. Secretly she loved being nipped and playfully bit. Nothing other than that had happaned last night, unless she counted them having their muzzles locked together for what felt like a good hour.

Still, her fox was right in this regard. She'd know when it would be the right time to tell her family about them. Hopefully she her fear wouldn't cause her to shrink away like she had the last couple of attempts. It wasn't as if they would disown her or hate her for being in an interspecies relationship, maybe disappointed because of it or that she hadn't invited them to the wedding. The young doe was confident that her mother would be shocked but other than that would accept it happily, her father on the other paw was what concerned her. He didn't seem like a rabbit that could be furious or one to hold a grudge, but that this was hardly close to the truth. The best example of this was when one of his rivals had _accidently_ broken through one of their fences and damaged a large section of their blueberry crops. It was as if though she was seeing a completely different animal when he was hopping mad.

It was insane of her to be acting this way. Her, Judy Wilde, the same officer who contended against bigger prey and predators for most of her life to get where she was. The same rabbit who had no fear of roughing it up against tigers and rhinos in the sparring ring at their station. A bunny who wasn't afraid to let a fox hold her in his paws as they slept together, or when they mated. An officer who barely cringed when greeted by heights, even when swinging from a vine dozens of meters from the hard unforgiving ground. So many things she had faced and held her ground against, only to feel like she was being reverted back to being a small kit, afraid to tell her parents about having broken a family vase.

"Judy… stop, I need t-to sit down," Nick growled as he clutched his stomach with a grimace, breaking the bunny out of her thoughts.

"Wha….right, sorry," she realized what was wrong as she stopped walking, her large eyes darting around for a bench or some free chairs at a local eat out. "Found somewhere," she wrapped an arm around his waist, feeling how tense his muscles had become, his breaths coming ruggedly with every step that they took.

As they made their way to the seats that she had picked out they got some strange stares from passerby's. Either from how strange it was to see a rabbit having a fox leaning up against it. This or because Nick's grimace wasn't hiding his canines all that well, these being by far the most intimidating of his fangs. More than once she glared back at some of the animals, daring them to say or do anything about it. Most of them ducked their heads down and went back to their business, or just started mumbling something to their friend. Honestly this was one of the reasons she was glad that she left this behind for the city, at least there predators and prey didn't get scrutinized.

A few short moments later they were sat down outside a local bakery, she wasn't sure since she was preoccupied with Nick. Presently he was trying to take deep, steady breaths, as the aches and pains sparked from where he had been shot. Judy watched him carefully, her heliotropes focused on his chest which rose and fell with each drawn in and released gulp of air. A little sense of guilt welled up inside her as she watched him. If she had only been there with him, maybe he wouldn't have been hurt like he had. Then again she could have been shot or killed instead of him being wounded, and she understood that he would rather take a bullet then let her do it.

Witnessing this was no Sunday afternoon picnic either because she couldn't do anything to distract him from the pain. They had seen a doctor about this several months ago when he started experiencing this; knowing him as well as she did she had a suspicion that he had tried to hide it from her, for a short while at least. Nevertheless they had been told it was normal and that it would come and go, nothing major or something to even worry too much about.

"Nick, stop," she said softly. The fox looked up at her curiously before he followed where her eyes were looking, finding his claws digging into the fabric of his shirt, exactly where the scar was. He pulled his paw away, slowly, but there was still a grimace.

"I feel like an old man," he grumbled humorously.

"Well, you're not exactly young," she forced a giggle.

"Hartie har har," he snorted, but hissed as more pain shot through his gut. The same paw he had removed he turned into a fist, wanting to beat the pain out, but he thought better of it. He had done this once before, when she wasn't around and ended up making it worse. "Kiss and make it better," he asked childishly, giving her cub like eyes for better affect.

"You know I can't," she laughed as she tapped his knee with a paw underneath the table.

His eyes scrunched up tightly and he let out a hiss, not understanding why it was acting up the way it was today. It wasn't as if he had overstretched or done anything to tug on his stomach muscles all that much. That wasn't exactly true seeing as he had been doing sit ups earlier that morning, he'd have to take it easier next time and see what exactly triggered it.

"So, it's nearing lunch, want to….." he picked up a menu that had been left on the table. "A pie or something?"

"Yes please," she said as she took a menu herself, but not taking her eyes off her husband seeing that he was still in a lot of discomfort. "Is it still throbbing?"

"Not really, it's just painful to move that much right now," he grumbled, his mood having gone a little sour.

"I….is there anything I can do?" she asked pathetically, feeling just as useless as he did when her leg was acting up.

"Yeah, kiss and make it better," he chuckled, forcing the pain down. "Just, well please keep talking to me."

"Okay….uhhh, ummmm," she looked about the busy sidewalks and dirt paths, seeing as vehicles weren't allowed to drive through the city, not being enough room along with this town being relatively small. There wasn't anything of interest to talk about around them. "Who'd you think would make a good godmother and father?"

"Oh…sure," he moped. "I'm in pain….now you want me to think about kits, you're going to be the death of me," his muzzle twitched as he grinded his fangs together, but he forced a small smile. "Why not Clawhauser, Lance, maybe Wolford…..ether way it'll be fun to see which of our friends fight over it?"

"I was thinking Clawhauser too, I think he'd love the idea," she agreed. "Why not the chief?"

"Buffalo Butt?" this time the tod couldn't help it, he laughed but regretted it a little as the pain came back again, but it wasn't overly bad as it started to die down. "He…he'd be awful. Imagine if our kid hurt themselves," he took on his best impersonation of their boss's voice. "You bleeding, any bones broken, are you terminally ill ? No? Don't care," he leaned further back into his seat, getting comfortable.

"He's not as bad as you think he is," she snickered as she could imagine seeing this as well. Sure their boss was gruff around the edges, emotionless tone, and often times very blunt but he was a good guy at the end of the day.

"Swear Clawhauser and him got a thing," he said in thought, this being believed and rumored amongst the entire station.

No…..stop putting that in my head," the other officer covered her eyes and giggled, her ears lowering flat against her back.

The fox threw his arms out wide, "Hey, I didn't think of it, thank Fangmeyer for that one."

"I know, but I can't imagine how things must work out between them. Fangmeyer and Wolford I get, they've expressed quite clearly that their a couple, but I can't see the chief being with anyone, he's too….serious," she whispered secretly, as though their boss wasn't too far away.

"They make," Nick smiled evilly.

"Don't," Judy glared at him, ready to kick him in the shin seeing as he was feeling better.

"A cute couple…ouch! Judy!" he yelled playfully as he scooted his chair a few centimeters away to get out of rang.

"Stop saying that!"

"Cute cutey cute cuteness of Cutesburg, that and in other news cu…." he wasn't expecting her to jump clear over the table and tackle him, his chair tittering backward and crashing to the ground.

"You stupid jerk!" the bunny laughed as she threw playful punches at her husband, who was trying to get her off and out of the chair.

"Judy, mercy, please stop," he laughed along with her, finding this just as funny.

"Never," she grabbed his head and shook it, she could see that there were animals watching them but she didn't care, she was enjoying this.

The predator grabbed the prey by the wrists, prying her paws off of him and just holding her still. She was semi sitting straddling his chest, his legs were still situated around the chair. He smiled up at her, shaking his head with amusement.

"And I embarrass you, how?"

"Dumb Fox," she giggled as she pulled away, almost tripping as she got off of him.

"Dumb Bunny," he mumbled as he took the paw she had offered, pulling him to his feet. He sat the chair back up and scooted himself back over to the table, Judy doing the same with hers as it had been knocked over. The animals that had stopped to see what was going on had shaken their heads and continued on their way, some had recorded it on their phones and were sending it to friends. It was more than likely that in the next day or two that would be in the news.

"Bogo's so going to kill us when he finds out," the vulpine grinned, picturing how it would go.

"See, I know how to have fun," bringing up a point that had been brought up earlier.

"Hmmmm, you definitely do, you little thing," he shot back, nudging one of her hindpaws with his own.

"Pervert," the rabbit shook her head and looked at some of the six to eight story buildings that were offices and stores.

There was no denying that they resembled barns, something she didn't understand was why they built houses like this. It was something that she had never gotten around to asking her parents, that and never finding the reason to do so. She presumed that every species was different in their preferences, so she had always deduced this was why rabbits made their buildings like this. Why the faces of the houses and buildings were outlined as a rabbits head with its ears was still a mystery. It seemed a little too eccentric and from what she had seen in Zootopia, it was only them that did this with their houses.

That and the wide variety of colors which were for the most part, bright and very gay colors. Bright yellows, blues, greens, pinks, oranges were some examples of these uppity paintjobs. There were a few dark colored houses, but they were all outside of the town, belonging to the farming families like hers. Anyways the town was more of a city really, seeing as it had more than a hundred-thousand animals living in it. It didn't seem like it held that many, but that was because for the most part her species were actually in the underground city of Bunnyburrows, also where some of the tram lines was located that connected it to Zootopia and a few of the other cities that were just as far away.

"Carrots?" her partner asked.

"Yeah?"

"Decided on what you want?"

"Oh, I was going to have a…." she gave the menu a quick glance over. "A small carrot pie."

"Alright, I'll go order them, what do you want to drink," he asked as he stood.

"Ummmm, I don't know," she confessed, having been distracted by her thoughts.

"I was going to get lemonade, want to share one or…."

"Yes please, thanks," she gave a few nods of the head

"Alright, be back in a bit."

Judy watched her husband's tail sway back and forth as he headed into the shop, getting into the small line. It was the first moment she had been given some time to be alone, not that she was annoyed with having her family and mate around her so constantly the last couple of days. This wasn't completely true, considering that things had gotten a little tense here and there in her family home. Small things had happened that had been blown way out of proportion when they were going on. Such an example was just last night when Nick had gotten up to go find where the bathroom was. He had accidently tripped over something and crashed into the wall, her parents room wasn't close but wasn't too far away from her room so it had woken them up.

To put things simply her father was half asleep when had heard the racket, in his justification he thought they were being robbed or that there was a creeper in their house. Nick had then been blinded by her father turning on the corridors light, that and her father had also been blinded by spraying the all purpose animal spray into his own eyes. It had taken a good hour or two to get everyone back to bed. Judy's mother had spent the next hour trying to help Stu wash the spray out of his fur and eyes. While that was going on she had to help Nick about as he was practically blind for a few hours, the lights at her family home were twice as bright as their apartments, not having been fitter out for a fox's sensitive eyesight.

Her father had been apologizing all morning to them about last night, even with many reassurances from his children, her and her partner it didn't seem to help. He was trying his best to try and accept Nick, but it was hard for him since he was like any other rabbit afraid of predators. It was obvious that there was tension between the two males, not the kind one feels when there's a argument coming, but just the skittish kind. Whenever her father tried to talk to the fox about something he always managed to say the wrong thing, sometimes it was offensive sometimes it was just too personal. When her husband smiled or waved with the older buck around he would tense up, rubbing his wrists anxiously, a sign that he wanted to say or do something but too afraid to act up on it.

Bonnie had reassured her it was just a male thing, it was just how they would act when they were either unsure of the other or were sizing each other up. Seeing as neither of them were trying to fight over dominance, it was clear to see that they were just apprehensive about interacting with the other. If this was how they were acting now, she couldn't imagine how they would be after the beans had been spilt. Maybe this was one of the reasons why her mate was being the way he was, it made sense now that she looked at it. He'd never admit it if she was correct, but it appeared that he was trying to make a good impression on her family, wanting them to accept him, this or in the very least ease their minds a little.

Judy felt her pocket vibrating, making her tear her attention away from her thoughts and from watching what the animals around her were doing on their habitual day to day.

 _ **Hey sis, dinners going to be around seven…..alright, alright, got it. Cheese fricking wheels, what an arsehole.**_ Judy chuckled, knowing who this was from already. Thorin, or Thor as he referred him to always used his microphone to send texts, claiming it was fast. She read through the rest of the text. _**Alright, we've had a bit of a….an accident I suppose in the kitchen. So dinners going to be around eight tonight. Let's just say that, not naming anyone that a certain group of or siblings, Brad, Mikey, David, Danielle and also Jamie may have set fire to a good deal of food in the ovens.**_ The doe stifled her laughter into her palm, finding this hilarious. It was never a dull day at home.. _**Well, just wanted you and your boyfriend to know. Just messing, know your married but seriously you have the coolest friends. Catch you later, mom's blowing a fuse right now.**_

 _ **Thanks, Thorin. Have fun cleaning up that mess. Lol.**_ Her thumps flew over the keypad on the phone before sending the message.

"Back again, miss me?" Nick sat down as she turned her phone off.

"Nah, weren't gone that long," she took in a deep breath and let out a happy sigh. It was a clear sunny day, her fur was soaking in the sun's rays, almost enough to make her purr.

"Oh, my heart," the fox playfully swooned in his seat dramatically. "I was gone for such a long time, and no seems to have cared."

"Fifteen minutes isn't that long," she rolled eyes in mock disgust.

"Miss Serious Britches," he pouted, crossing his arms, but she ignored his antics, making him huff. "Well since my charm isn't working, what else do you want to show me?"

"Hmmmm, I don't know," she had already shown him her old school, the soccer field that she practiced at with her old school team, all of her favorite areas she sought solicitude at, the place she was born. There wasn't much else she could show him, that was an understatement, they'd be here for a good month if she took him to all the places that meant something to her. Tapping her paw lightly on the ground she finally proposed, "I could show you The Underground."

"Is…is that the city underneath all this?"

"Yep, it's much bigger though, I'd have to compare it to Zootopia size, but for rabbits."

"I'm going to have to pass, I'm not so good with being more than six feet under," he winked.

"Alright," she said, feeling a little bit disappointed. "I honestly don't know where else to take you today," she shrugged. There was so much to do and so him beneath he surface, this was actually how she planned on spending the rest of the afternoon till they headed back. Nick must have caught on to her disappointment.

"Well…..how about that tree?"

"What tree are you talking about," she looked up from her folded paws, her gold wedding band reflecting slivers of the natural light.

"Ummm," the tod pulled out his phone and started scrolling through his image album. "This one," he faced the screen to her. What she saw was a selfie of her with what she would describe as a suggestive smile. She had sent him this when she was last out here, but behind her was a lone elm tree.

"Oh, that's about an hour or so from here, by paw at least" she nodded, seeing that this was a perfect place to take him.

"That's sounds great, means no one can hear you scream," he added, resting his muzzle on the knuckles of a paw, sending her a very predatory grin.

"I think you got that switched around," she eyed him evilly. "No one's going to hear you, Mr. Wilde."

 _Later…._

Hours had passed the two officers by since they had their pies at the shop, at present one could find them in the shade that the tall old elm's branches provided. The fox's back was leaning against the trunk, his legs outstretched on the grass of the seemingly endless lowlands. His muzzle was resting between his mate's ears, her back snuggly fitted his chest, almost as if nature had fitted them together perfectly. Her legs followed the inside of his as she was for the most part in his lap, a seat she found for the most part comfortable. So much so that she was starting to slip in and out of consciousness, only being brought back as her receptive ears caught a noise in the distance.

The male was faring better than his other half, as he was occupied with his thoughts, which centered on the serenity of this drawn out moment. He lifted his eyes from the ground between their tangled limbs, seeing the rich green, browns and yellows of the tall grass swaying back and forth in the warm breeze. there wasn't another tree in sight from where they were sprawled out. He carefully removed his shades, noticing that a large cluster of clouds had rolled in, often hiding the sun away. Snapping the arms together he placed them to his right, blinking a couple times as his eyes got used to the light. He leaned back against the trunk and let out a long breath through his nose as he let the calmness around them sink in.

They had been like this for the last hour, since they had arrived and decided to rest for a while. He personally had no plans of leaving anytime soon, this being the only time that they could be so openly affectionate to their mate. They hadn't been able to since, well, three weeks ago, when they had gone to a reclusive spot on one of Zootopia's many beaches for an evening. They'd have to leave in an hour or two, so they could be back before dinner, but that wasn't on either of their minds.

The doe's ears perked up a bit, towering over the tod's head and his own ears. Her eyes blinked a few times as she became aware of where they were again, as she had just taken a five minute nap. Lowering her ears again she heard a disgruntled huff from her living cushion. She grinned and chuckled silent, seeing as she was covering his eyes with her radars. He shook his head a little till they draped back over her upper shoulders and a little down her back.

Nothing was said, quirky and sappy remarks having been forgotten as they reveled in their little slice of haven. Perhaps they'd come here again before they left back to the city, if they got time to do so. These thoughts of what ifs and maybes were left to the afterburners of their minds for a later date. Now, now it was just their time, the time where partners could truly be themselves, could hold one another without strange looks from animals, a time where they could push all their worries away and focus on the bliss of this moment.

Judy pressed herself more into her mates warm fur, having taken off her shirt earlier, leaving her torso bare, exactly the same as her mate. They were far enough away from everyone, a good seventeen kilometers away from the city, fifteen from the nearest farm or house. Not many animals even knew about this tree, or they did and simply ignored it which was fine with her. It wasn't often that they could truly feel alone, that there wasn't anyone near or close to them. One of the reasons why they were considering moving a ways out of Zootopia, maybe forty or fifty kilometers from it. A good piece of land to themselves, a large house perfect for the family they wanted, a perfect place where they'd go unnoticed by society.

She felt Nick's paws run up and down the fur of her sides and tummy, his claws delicately grazing over her hidden, pink flesh. A soft purr escaped her, as he started to pay more attention to these areas. The muscles in his muzzle tightened, he was smiling, probably with one of his eyebrows cocked up ever so slightly, his ears tilted obtusely. It was peaceful, this was something that she could get used to, definitely not an everyday thing, however having the option was more of what she desired. If they could have the choice to be able to do this when they wanted then she'd be more than content with her lot in life.

The soft touching stopped, the red furred arms circling around her middle as they pulled her closer to their owner, who was now nuzzling her neck with his nose. She giggled and weakly tried to push him away, he just grinned started sniffing in her scent greedily. It was ticklish to feel his damp nose pressing against her neck and also how his sniffing was ever so lightly pulling on the thin fur.

"Niiiickkkk!" she drew out.

"Hmmmm, you smell good, Fluffy," he rumbled as he made his way from her neck to her own muzzle, rubbing against it.

"Stiiiilll, I don't want my parents to smell us," she turned in his lap to better face him.

"Tooooo bad," he chuckled, covering the left side of her face with a paw, his thumb stroking through the fur tenderly. "I'm the predator, you're my prey."

The fox pressed his nose against hers as he closed his eyes. She pressed back, sharing in this primal kiss, which words couldn't really express how it felt only beyond delightful. It was innocent and clean of any lust, unopposed like muzzle locks and licks. This kiss they reserved, only using it in moments like this, to fully express what their mate meant to them.

When they pulled apart they became lost in the pools of emerald and amethyst, both mirroring the intensity of emotions between the two animals, both full of love and so much more. They weren't perfect, far from it some days, but what they felt for one another was undeniably pure, something that neither had felt with their prior infatuations. Neither imagined in their lives that they would find this sense of belonging, of love in another species. This they had learned didn't matter, it shouldn't ever matter. What other animals thought of them was just because of ignorance and racial prejudice that or they didn't understand that love was beyond what was on the outside.

"I love you," they both breathed out at the same time, making them smile and chuckle as they pressed their foreheads together, eyes closing as they held the other closer.

Judy breathed out as she nuzzled her head against his, her eyes opening to find her mates waiting. "Nicholas, I…..thanks for suggesting we come out here. For planning to do this with me," she kissed him between the eyes.

"No problem, Judith," his arms which were settled around her waist squeezed her closer, making her giggle. "Anything for my lovely bunny."

"Such a sap sometimes," she mused as she sat back, well as much as his hold would allow her. She looked up above them, seeing the many small rays of light sneaking between the leafs and branches, the breeze swaying them and rustling them together nosily, for a rabbit anyhow.

"So, am I the first guy you've stripped down to his shirt here?" he smiled at her the way he knew she loved.

"Maybe, who wants to know," she asked, distracting him as she ran a paw down her breast to her naval.

"I….I guess I do," he growled.

"Yeah, you are, you idiot," she felt a pleasant shiver run up her spine as the warm breeze ruffled the fur of her back.

"Good," he nodded happily, this could be their own special place in years to come. "So I've been meaning to ask you something, Carrots?" letting a paw play with her silky soft tail fur.

"Shoot if you dare."

"So…..at your house I've noticed that your parents have pictures of all their litters," he explained, making Judy's insides tighten a little, but knew it was going to come up sooner or later. "You're the only one whose by yourself, why?"

"Well…uh, melon hats," she mumbled, a curse she had made up. "It's…do you really want to know?" she was willing to tell him, but like him in these situations, she didn't want to kill the mood.

"If you're okay with it," he stroked rubbed her shoulder with a paw, reassuring her a little.

"Ooookay, where to begin," her ears lowered a bit as she bit down on the inside of her bottom lip with her incisors. "I'm the first born, as you already know," her fox nodded, his eyes focused on her and attentive to every word, listening to her like none of her other boyfriends ever had. "Well, I don't have any siblings my age because…well they didn't survive the labor, we….I was born prematurely, by about two weeks or so," she looked a bit down, but it wasn't the first time, and it didn't bother her as much as it did when she was a kit and a teenager.

"Jud….I'm sorry, we don't have to talk about this," Nick rushed, having had a friend go through this many years ago.

"No, I'm fine sweetheart." she smiled at him, it wasn't a forced one either," I want you to know," he reluctantly nodded his head, not picking up on any of her usual cues when she was upset. "As I've told you before when we…well when we were looking to see if we were compatible, rabbits gestation is four an half months."

"You were lucky then," he commented, his paws subconsciously tightening their hold on his mate, as if though afraid she'd disappear. She felt this and it made her heart flutter, proof enough to show how much he cared for her.

"The doctors had to fight for my life, I was fine but things weren't done developing yet. My eyes weren't done developing, one of my ears was shorter than the other, they feared that one of my lungs was damaged during birth. It was a mess for the next three weeks as they constantly monitored me," she explained but chuckled as she added. "You'd think my mother would be more emotional, but from what she told me he was constantly in tears," Nick chuckled as well, trying to imagine a much younger Mr. Hopps, not him crying.

"Things worked out, no problems or defects, as you probably found out, "she looked at him with a grin, making him cough as he looked away. She had only become so suggestive in nature this year, having come out of her shy shell for that kind of thing. It made him a little uncomfortable though since it was usually his job.

"You've always been fighting," Judy nodded to this, she had always been fighting since day one. For her life, for people to take her seriously, to be the best and graduate from the ZPA, to prove to everyone she was a real cop, that she was independent, she wasn't like most of her kind.

"It's also why my parents are so overprotective of me and my siblings, but me especially," she sighed, a fact of her folks she didn't like. "They don't want to lose any of us. They always tried to talk me out to becoming an officer. They were afraid that after everything they had gone through to keep me, they'd lose me," she mumbled, she felt bad for putting them through such much stress with her job, especially her father who she couldn't seem to reassure that she was fine.

"Hey," he tipped her head up with a finger underneath the tip of her chin. "You've come so far, there's nothing to feel bad about," he kissed her on the lips sweetly. "Trust me, Judith," it was an offer, an offer that they always gave the other so they'd know that they had someone to go to, to fall upon if things seemed bad. Right now it was reassurance that…she didn't know what he was trying to assure her about.

"It wasn't your fault," he pulled her into a hug, she wrapped her arms around his neck, nodding into it. She wasn't crying or feeling down, she felt almost fine. It could possibly be because he was there, that he was holding her, or that it was simply for the reason that she had already accepted what had happened.

"Thanks, Nicholas," she kissed his neck, seeing as she was resting her head on his shoulder. "For making me chase your stupid tail in the first place." Nick laughed to that, seeing as she had only done so because he was a jerk, and because she needed him for the case. Look how that had worked out, friends to partner to best friends, to mates and lastly to being husband and wife. What a team they made. "Yeh, I deserve all the thanks, it's all because of me," he pulled her away a little so he could look at her face.

"I'm serious," she laughed as well, holding him by his forearms, her fingers hardly wrapping around them.

"I know, should we head back?"

"Not quite yet, we have tons of time left," she grinned at him with a look in her eye which made him groan.

"You bunnies, such dirty little things aren't you," he teased, hoping she was just kidding.

"What makes you think that," she ran a paw up the creamy fur of his chest, minding her claws. "There's something I always wanted to do here," she closed the distance between their muzzle, persuading him to lie on his back.

 _First things first, when we get back, showers._

 **HI:** **Hey everybody, this is Reverend Archangel, your friendly neighborhood keyboard jockey. What's a jockey? Hell if I know, but I'm gonna keep talking anyway So on with, the news. Am I right kiddies, you read all that just so you can read this. Right? NO! Well too bad, because it's happening.** **Well with warm, intro aside, it's time for the sign off after some thanks and well update notices.**

 **So thanks to all of you who gave me ideas for Judy's childhood background, names for her siblings, and just your overall comments in your reviews and PMs. Honestly guys thank you all so much for being as much a part of this story as the characters that are in it. Without your over all support and liking of this story it has made 200 hundred reviews, 316 favorites, 477 followers, and 44,342 views. This is my first story which has made 200 reviews, by far this story has gotten more attention and love then my previous ones. This is quite an accomplishment for me, and I personally couldn't have done it without you and so many others. I know this has been gushy and maybe some of you feel it is insincere but I mean every word that I type, including the typos, from my very heart. You guys are great, all of you who have commented, criticized, complimented, given suggestions, you have all in your own way contributed to this story.**

 **Well that's it on my end nearly, just a few more things to cover. As some of you have commented, yes I have seen the mistakes and I promise that once the story is over, I will go through with a fine comb brush and filter them out. But this will take as much time as it did typing the chapters, so I may do a chapter every Sunday, I don't type on Sundays seeing as I work on these for the other six days, I know you guys understand why. A day to step away, relax, come up with some ideas and then back on it for the rest of the week.**

 **So I'll be working on chapter one tomorrow, or if there are major mistakes on this chapter, then it'll be this one. So if you see like for example something that feels like an entire section has been removed, please tell me, this has happened three times. Something or the other on fanfiction is wrong, and I've had paragraphs go missing in a few of my chapters. So help me keep an eye on that if you could, please.**

 **Till next time, I hope you guys are well and just keep being the awesome individuals you are. Don't worry next chapter is going to be real fun, it's going to actually have some intense stuff going on, not spoiling anything, point of a Drama. So this is Reverend Archangel, signing off, almost put singing off, imagine how that'd look, (shivers in disgust). Now I'm going to have nightmares for putting your brains through that. I'm so sorry. Night all, have a great rest of the weekend, and a good week.**

 **Wait a second! If you guys are wondering what these barn of houses in Bunnyburrows look like a Wisconsin Dairy Barn.** **That's what the Zootopia Bunnyburrows' buildings sort of resemble. No further a due, good evening.**


	13. Coming Clean at Last

_**Chapter XIII**_

 _ **Coming Clean at Last**_

The rabbit officer could feel every individual pulse of her little heart within her ears. Every soft, singular, thump, being a steady reminder that she was very much alive. Yet what she felt was nothing like the constant calm beat, which often than not would lull her or her mate to sleep at nights. But no, what she felt now was almost grimace worthy to how agonizing it really was. Each uneven breath she took clearly evidence enough that she was indeed in distress. Enough so that she knew she was on the verge of a panic attack, seeing as this wouldn't be the first she had suffered in her life. Not once could she ever recollect one ever being as intense as this, but never before had she been as overwhelmed with this much stress and fear.

As though reading her mind, a red-furred paw took one of her gray ones with a tender hold. The warm flesh beneath exotic fur, dexterously strong fingers, relaxed breathing and posture, and a scent that she could instantly recognize as belonging to her husband, musky and overbearingly male with hints of red-spice from his deodorant. It was strange, but pleasant that such familiar touches and fragrances washed away a great deal of her turmoil. How she was so grateful that hewas there, sitting next to her, not even an inch between them, close to her side, where he would hopefully be for many days to come. Just his overall presence alone was enough to find her strength again, knowing that she wasn't alone, that her mate had her back no matter what the circumstances were.

With this new sense of strength she was able to force her eyes to dart upwards, ending the long stare off she had going with the gray carpeted floor. What she met was her parent's eyes, light brown and the eyes she had inherited staring into her own, both pairs filled with a many number of confused emotions. Disbelief was the one that stood out, this being obvious from the two of them having their mouths slightly agape, as though it was too much for them to process. Their silent disapproval proved to be too much for her, and once again she tore her gaze away from them, looking for something else to distract her.

Nothing in the living room where she had spent so much of her early life growing up with siblings was able to effectively distract her. Everything that once brought her a sense of belonging, of familial ties and love, suddenly felt alien, as though she didn't belong here anymore. Her eyes settled onto her lap, out of the corner of her vision she saw Nick's paw, intertwined with hers and resting on the thigh of his left leg. His longer digits enclosing her entire paw, while hers only made it just a little past his knuckles. She felt him shift next to her, the stares they were receiving more than likely making him fidgety and very self conscious about what he exactly was at that moment.

After what she had let come out of her muzzle, what she had so clearly but meekly announced to her parent's, how could they not be in anything else but in a state of shock. The silence that had succumbed the room had made it feel as if ten minutes had dragged them by, but only quarter of a minute had roughly passed them by now, or so she thought as there wasn't a clock in this room. With what essentially little time had passed between them it was remarkable how quiet and tense the air was, a dropped needle would be cringe worthy from how loud it would be.

The needle would have to wait another day as the silence was finally broken as Stu blinked a few times as he closed his mouth. He slowly opened it again to try and say something, but shook his head and chewed on the inside of a cheek once again. With a little sigh and another shake of the head he was finally able to manage.

"Could…could you repeat that Jude?" his tone unsure and very doubtful of what he had heard.

"Dad, Nick's my husband….I..I-I'm his wife," once again she repeated, but her voice wavered.

"Yo-you…you're both…the two of you….but, you're a rabbit an-an-and he's a-a-a-a…..a," the buck stumbled over his words, not knowing how to respond to this, or even if he could believe what his ears told him.

"What you're father's trying to say is…." Bonnie said, the fur around her muzzle having withered, "well…I-we don't, sorry," she mumbled, rubbing her face with a paw, finding this incredibly difficult. "What…..well, we don't know what to say" she didn't want her husband to say something brash in what was such a delicate situation, nor herself.

"Errrhhhhhhh, urmmmm, we could start…" Nick begun, before his muzzle audibly snapped shut, drawing a shudder from his in-laws. He felt that this wasn't his place to comment right now. He shook his head and concentrated on the floor like his mate had been moments before, with a hard wrought expression of contemplation.

"How could you marry, him? Him! Him of all animals Judy?" her father finally shot out, startling his daughter and his wife from his almost hysteric tone.

"Stu!" Bonnie hissed, just as upset as her mate but not wanting to be rude to their now known son in law, and to offend both their daughter and him.

"What?" the buck almost yelled, having stood up, not so much in anger but in complete disbelief. "I…..I can't believe this. I never even imagined…he's a fox," he waved his hand at the other officer, whose ears twitched irritably before he looked away, wearing an unreadable poker face.

"Dad, I know what Nick is, I…"

"I know you know," his focus turning to her, "but how….I don't get why you're with him. From everything you told us about him…..he…uhhhh, how could you marry an animal like him?"

"Stu!" Bonnie stood up, her gaze following him as he paced around the room. "It's not as bad as you think," she tried to diffuse the situation, but it did exactly the obvious.

"Not as…..not as bad as I think? Are you insane Bon," he gestured to the other married couple, whose paws were still interlaced, grasping onto the others tightly. "Our daughters with a fu…a fuc…a damn fox! It'd be bad if she was with any other predator, but him. He's…..he's exactly what I warned her about, he's a complete….." he groaned into his paws, feeling as if he was the only sane one left in the room.

Judy painfully swallowed the lump that had settled in her throat before saying, "What about Nick, what's so wrong with him being a fox?"

"There's nothing wrong with him being a fox," the older doe interjected, somewhat lying if only to bring everyone down so they could actually talk.

Mr. Hopps pushed himself off the wall he had been leaning up against with a propped up arm, his ears standing on edge, eyes afire with emotion. "Nothing wrong…of course there's something wrong with it. He's the exact kind of fox that I told you about, he's a fricking monster. How can you be with such a vile…" he threw his arms up in defeat, not knowing how to get his point across without just throwing specieist remarks around.

"DAD!" Judy shouted, having jumped up. "Nick isn't a monster, he's a good male, he's nothing like he used to be," her arms had crossed over her front, a paw tapping rapidly against the floor irritably, her own eyes blazing with an amethyst fire.

"How can you know, you've only known him for" he counted off his fingers rapidly,"…..three years. How do you know he isn't cheating behind your back, or still conning animals, ho…"

"Stu! Please! That's enough!" Bonnie was begging now, someone was going to lose their temper. Either it was going to be her daughter or her mate, both being very staunch and fierce defenders of their beliefs.

"No….our daughter is married to-to-to….to that!" he pointed at Nick as though he wasn't even an animal, just something appalling.

"Don't talk about him like he's just an object, he's my husband!" Judy took a few strides toward her father, never having felt so furious with him in her life. Her mother's surprisingly strong paw caught her around the wrist, stopping her in her tracks before she did something just as equally foolish.

"He's a fox Judy, their nature is to never stick around with a mate, they always move on to the next, they're not loyal," Stu's eyes had become teary and he let out a few cusses as he wiped them this not being the time. "I don't want him to hurt you….I, I just want what's best for you, and he's not it," he finally managed.

"How would you know!" Judy almost shrieked, her voice having gone up a pitch. Out of the corner of her eyes she caught some of her siblings peaking around the walls. Some others running in to see if everything was alright, a few jumped having never heard her yell like this. She ignored this and yelled again, "You never thought I would make it as a cop! You-you….you never supported it! You always told me to settle for something less, to be something else. How would you know that he's not best for me!" her voice lowered till she was hissing. "Nick's supported every decision I've made, even if it's not the right one, he's always had my back with everything I've done. How can you judge him?"

"How can I judge him, Judy? He's a fucking ex-criminal," stud yelled back, this being the first time he had ever let out a cuss like this, "For melons and fricking turnips shake!" he yelled angrily, the hysteria having left as the anger set in. "If he wasn't your typical fox I could try to understand him…but I've always told you, all of you, never get affiliated with scum like him," he said this to everyone as he gestured once again to Nick, who just sat there, watching what was going on around him. Judy opened her muzzle but her father soon spoke over her till she gave up.

Bonnie said with a calm voice, but her arms were wrapped around herself as though she was cold. "We didn't want you to be a cop because we didn't want you getting hurt, or having your dreams crushed when you might have failed. We wanted what w-was best for you. What would have you done if you were in our place, Dear? I…..we were worried sick about you every single day you were away, and when you were finally accepted I almost had a stroke from how worried I was! Thinking about you in a big city, with bigger predators and prey! I couldn't sleep!" he collapsed onto the couch, Bonnie sitting next to him after she let her daughter go.

"Look at me, I'm fine!" the oldest daughter threw her arms out wide in exasperation, even today they didn't think she could handle herself.

"We know dear, but we were so worried about you," Bonnie nodded, wanting her daughter to understand. "You have no idea how hard it is to know that one of your children could be taken away from you in an instant."

"I….I have no idea?" Judy shook her head in disbelief. "Nick was shot last year…he nearl…near….nearly died, and I couldn't do…a…an-anything. When…when he didn't come home….I thoug….I was so scared," tears built up in her eyes and her chest heaved as she was overcome with those painful emotions. "Don't…tell me I….I don't understand," she growled.

"What do you expect of us?" the old buck asked, taking them back to the root of this argument. "For two years you've been married to him?" she nodded albeit reluctantly. "Two years we thought you were married to some rabbit or hare, but you never told us. We've always wanted to be a part of your wedding, to see you off to the man that would make you happy," he shook his head and looked away, disappointment now brimming over his fury.

Bonnie continued, feeling just as upset as her husband now, seeing how little their oldest appeared to trust them. "It hurts us to know that you can't trust us, but it hurts even more that you married Nick. We wouldn't have cared if it was a fox, but one like Nick….."

"You don't know him like I do!" the doe seethed angrily, standing between her parents and her mate, arms crossed defiantly still, giving them a hard stare.

"How much do you really know about him?" her father asked tiredly, the anger having washed away, leaving him exhausted and sad.

"I…I," she looked over her shoulder, seeing that her fox was watching her with his unreadable expression. Giving him a quick glance over she made up her mind, and offered him a small smile, to which he titled his head to the side, something she had always thought that was adorable about him. "I know more about him than any other animal, I trust him with my life…I love him," she confessed with a little sigh, letting her frustration melt away as she slumped back against the couch next to him.

The older doe looked at her, the same mauve eyes she had gazing into hers searchingly. "Why didn't you two tell us….."

"Because of me," the fox interrupted, this being the first thing he had spoken up for a long while.

Everyone's attention landed on him, including Judy's. "Because, well you're not wrong about me," he stood up and pulled his paw out of his mate's paw who had grasped onto him worriedly. "I just didn't want, Carrot's to suffer because of who and what I am. I mean seriously, can you imagine what animals would think of her if they knew I was her husband, her mate. She…..we wouldn't be able to live in peace if they knew…all I want for Judy is to be happy, it's all I've ever wanted for her," he said, his voice was tender, however void of emotion.

Mrs. Wilde thought that her partner would continue with a cocky comment on how he was the best to provide her with it, that he was the coolest son in law they'd ever have, or something at least predictable of him . However all he did was turn away from her parents and walked passed her, not even sparing her a glance. This in itself felt off as she was always reminding him to stop staring at her so much. What she was able to make out from seeing his emeralds so briefly was that they looked dull, as though the twinkle in his eye had finally gone out.

He didn't stop to stand behind the couch, or to lean against a wall, he simply walked passed her and through the gap her siblings had made for him and took a right turn, walking away from them all. This left everyone in stunned silence, including herself. What had he meant, was that him saying that he had enough, that he was walking away from it all? Was it over between them? Did he believe that the best option was for him to leave so that she could be happy? If that was the case then he was horribly wrong. She couldn't imagine a day going by without him in it, she couldn't even consider a morning without waking up next or snuggled up in his arms.

She hopped back up onto her paws so as to catch up with him but her mother stopped her with a cautious tone, "Judith?"

"Ye…yes Mom?"

"We…we'll talk more about this tomorrow," she said in a soft understanding voice.

"Okay," she nodded, but her mind was distant with other pressing matters that she had to resolve.

"Yeah, we'll see you tomorrow, bud," her father agreed, trying to sound cheerful but it came out more as miserable, as though dreading this coming up again.

"Night guys," she mumbled as she headed out of the room, getting a echo of replies from her family, each having their own opinions of what they thought of both her and her mate.

The officer slowly trudged down the ostensibly endless corridors, her body feeling unnaturally heavier as though she was tied down by weights. After passing a couple of bedroom doors did the doe notice that it was much later then she had originally believed. The sun must have set a good hour or so ago as she found that she was making her way in the pitch black. It wasn't like she hadn't walked through the house at night before, but right now she felt as though the darkness was trying swallow her up as if only to hide from her problems.

Along with this she couldn't tell if she was calm or angry, relieved or disappointed, happy or sad. The closest that she could place it as, was a complete and utter blank. It was all completely empty inside, both thoughts and emotions, as if she was nothing but an empty husk of herself, only alive physically. Never before had she felt like this in her life, not even when she resigned from the ZPA after her speech had caused so much anti-semitism and chaos in the city. Now that she thought about it, she felt this once before. When she had come back here after she had resigned, the guilt of knowing what she had done left her feeling, dead inside. It wasn't just because of how she felt that she had broken the world, but because of how she had pushed Nick away. All because she was afraid of him, because of what he was on the outside, not seeing him for who he really was.

Not wishing for this to consume her thoughts she headed down to where her room was, hoping that a certain fox was in his room. It wasn't too far away from living room they were at, but because she was in the dark and she couldn't find the light switch, making it extremely difficult for her to navigate with acute awareness, or she'd be bumping into any number of things such as shelves, or in the most likely instances her own paws. It was at times likes these where she would gladly have given her hearing or her agility for night vision, But she guessed that she'd have to make do with what she was naturally given, letting her husband have that useful ability.

Thinking of him made her heart sink a little as she thought about all that had just been said and done. She…..they both knew that things weren't going to be exactly easy when they brought this up, but nothing could have prepared her for her parent's reactions. It was understandable how they felt, now that she had some time to think it over with herself quietly. It would hurt if her husband and her had children and they didn't invite or even tell them of their marriage or who their mate was. Yet what her father had said about Nick and him being a fox was uncalled for, enough so that she had to wonder if it was his anger or if this was how he truly felt about them.

This would have to be brought up another day as she found that she had arrived to her room, only to be facing the door, paw resting on the handle. At this moment she was anxious to open the door, already knowing that her partner was inside his or her room from hearing him shuffling about inside. What was waiting for her on the other side? A fox who was in a rage and would turn and accuse her? A mate who would be understanding and just want to sleep it off till tomorrow? Or would she find him vulnerable and in self-doubt if he was good enough for her? These weren't all of the possibilities of what lay beyond the turn of the handle, but they were more likely than the other outcomes she imagined.

Knowing that she'd never know by just standing out in the corridor she turned the polished metal with a soft click and headed inside. Immediately walking in she smacked herself nose first into the bare chest of her husband.

"Owwwwwwww!" she muffled into his chest, as she couldn't pull away as he had wrapped an arm around her instinctively, almost protectively.

"Seems that we bump into one another once again, Hopps," he said softly, his arm tightening around her waist, his other paw grasping the scruff of her neck.

"No kidding, Wilde," she closed her eyes.

More than anything she desired to turn the clock back to when they were underneath the elm tree, where her husband's paws had been running through her bare fur. How at peace her mind, both their of their minds were after they had their fun, enough so that they had dozed off as they held the other in a lovers embrace. Even this being only hours ago, the details to why they had ended up this way were hazy at best.

What she knew without a doubt was that she felt overwhelmingly complete in her husband's arms as his eyes gazed into hers, claws gently running up and down the curvature of her spine. The way the warm rays of the sun soaked into the gray fur of her back, warming her to the tips of ears, the warmth her mate's fur emanated had been enough to make her shiver in pleasure. How his muzzle had sought out the line of her jaw and her slender neck. His soft nips and licks making her heart swell with even more love for him, every single touch he lavished onto her slender form was absolute perfection, his dexterous fingers knowing no restrictions as they roamed freely as they cuddled in the aftermath.

"You okay, Darlin?" he murmured as he started to nuzzle between her ears, picking up on her mood.

"I'll be alright," he shivered as she tickled his tummy with her whiskers. "What about you?"

"I'm used to that kind of stuff," he sighed, having hoped that things would have been different this time.

"W….we going to be okay?"

"Ha! We've survived the impossible, I think we'll be just fine," he titled her head up with his nose before giving her a chaste kiss on the lips, the officers still standing in the threshold of her room.

"I…I-I'm sorry…..for what my par…"

"Ssshhhhh," he hushed, kissing her again, giving her a small smile. "I'll win your folks over with the ol' foxy charm," she couldn't help smiling a little from this as she snorted.

"Yeah, keep dreaming hubby," her arms tightening around his middle.

"So, going to keep me waiting out here without a shirt?"

"I dooonnnn't knooooow, I'm really enjoying the view," her breaths ruffling the creamy and red fur of his chest.

"How couldn't you, I'm absolutely gorgeous," the door closed shut with a snap as she used her paw as her husband brought them further into her room.

When they finally got to lying down on her bed the tod let out a heavy sigh, closing his eyes together tightly as he couldn't hide the reality of what just occurred. It wasn't as though he was in a particularly great mood after that spout with her parents. This though, was what he typically tried to do after something serious, trying his best to downplay it and laugh it off for a while till it was brought up at another time or forgotten about. However, this was something he couldn't simply ignore, or pretend never happened, considering how serious it truly was. His mate he knew well enough by now was just playing along with him, having adopted it for herself to deal with stressing matters. She was clearly not comfortable with talking about it yet, and he just wanted to look forward instead of dwelling on it.

Judy broke the silence that had settled over them for the past quarter of an hour, breaking the fox out of his thoughts, and her own.

"Nick?" the doe breathed

"Present," he matched her tone and raised a paw as though taking roll from a teacher.

"My parents…..they're stubborn about these kinds of things," she mumbled tiredly as she propped herself on an elbow, laying next to him as he laid on his back as he stared up at the ceiling.

"Oh, I hadn't noticed," he nodded with sarcasm. "A bit old fashioned I take it?"

"Mmmmm, they can be. I mean, it took them forever to get behind me being a cop. I don't know how long it'll take them to come around with us."

"That's up to them," he closed his eyes, his ears laying back even though he could hear crickets outside from the open window. He added as he admitted, "They're not wrong about me, y….."

"They are wrong," the smaller animal defended fiercely.

"Judy," he groaned, not wanting her to defend him, but to listen.

"No!" she said defiantly. "You're nothing…..you're not anything like that anymore. You're a better animal now. Look at how far you've come," she placed a paw over his heart, which he covered with a larger one tentatively, seeing not for the first time how much smaller hers was.

"I know, but they're right to be worried. I'm a big scary fox, an ex-criminal to top it all off. You're a rabbit, a strictly law abiding one at that," honestly, she was a complete hard ass when it came to her job, something that he admired about her. "I'd want you to stay clear of me if I was your folks."

"You're not scary, there's nothing about you to be afraid of," she placed a paw on his left cheek, drawing smaller shapes into the fur with the thumb.

"Oh, there's nothing to be afraid of," he mocked with a childish tone, rolling onto his side to better face her, keeping their paws over his chest. "Judy, I could kill you if I went savage, I can hurt you so easily if I snapped. I'm…..I'm still afraid of hurting you," he confessed, this being what he had a nightmare about so many days ago, having lied. A dream where he had no control over himself, having gone into a complete savage rage from Night Howlers and attacking her. Things having played out quite differently at the museum.

"Nick, I know that you never would in your right mind," she brushed her nose against his, looking into his eyes with absolute trust and love, wanting to ease his mind from this dark mood of his. "You're not dangerous, or a monster. You're Nick, the first fox officer, and you're my mate. You're not anything that you don't want to be or what anyone else thinks you ought to be. Okay?"

"I…alright," he relented, knowing this to be true, and also because he couldn't argue with her.

Some days he still found it hard as his darker thoughts whispered that he was just a dangerous predator. That the side comments and whispers that he caught from animals were right about what his kind were, what he was. This he generally hid away, not letting anyone see that it was getting to him, it would only prove that they were getting to him, and he had vowed to never let anyone see him so vulnerable again. There were the few exceptions, one being a ball of gray fur beside him.

Judy rolled onto her back, stretching out as she let out a yawn, her front teeth being displayed in the dim light. Nick soon mimicked her, looking up at the ceiling of her room, there was still a lot to discuss, but neither of them knew how to approach it, or if they wanted to. The silence that had fallen in between them was comfortable, not demanding to be broken anytime soon. It wasn't that they were particularly happy with the events of that night, but they were together and nothing had really changed between them.

The rabbit looked out of the corner of an eye, seeing that the fox next to her had his arms behind his head, tail wagging meekly across his legs so he wasn't lying on it. His emeralds roamed over the ceiling as though the answers he sought were there. Even after two years she couldn't imagine working alongside another officer, or going a day without him being there. How she had gotten pass the urge to strangle him and fine him into the next decade, or just arrest him, she hadn't a clue. It must have been because as much as she had denied it and told him that he was crazy, she was fond of him. Firstly as a close friend, then something more as time went on, strange how it worked out like that.

HeHe The vulpine must have caught on to her spying, as he soon turned his head to look at her, a almost unnoticeable goofy grin spreading across his angular muzzle.

"Take a picture it'll last longer?"

"I already have enough, you narcissist."

"Well…..can I help you?"

"Yeah," she rolled onto her side, snuggling up to his side. "How come you're so cute?"

"Cute? Oh…I see, it's alright if you say it then."

"Yeah, it is," she laughed. "Now, you going to tell me?"

"If I knew what you were yammering about, Dumb Bunny," he laid the back of his head against the soft pillow, still feeling a bit down.

"The fur on the side of your face is smoothed down," she grabbed a hold of his cheeks, pinching and pulling on them as she talked in a low tone as though addressing a child. "Awwww, so cuddly and wuddly, whose so adorable," she giggled as he growled from her pinching his muzzle, this didn't hold any real effect on her anymore.

"Judy, stop," he mumbled as he pulled his face away from her paws, all before scooting further up the bed.

"Or what? An old man like you can't stop me," she snuggled her muzzle further into his chest, as though trying to burrow her way inside him. The tod smiled amusedly down at her as she laced an arm around his middle, claws giving him a tummy scratch.

"Ohh, boastful aren't we," he patted her firm rump, not being able to resist. She looked up at him with a small smirk. "But seriously, I'm not in the mood to play."

"Wore you out again?"

"I'm getting too old for this crap," he closed his eyes, feeling ready for sleep, even though it was so early into the night, somewhere around twenty-three hundred.

"You're so full of it, Sweetheart."

"I'm pretty sure you're the one whose full of it," he raised an eyebrow with his eyes closed, his wide sinful grin showing off his ivory fangs. The bunny scoffed, finding it hard to find her voice as her cheeks flared a tomato red, this sadly not being the last time in her life it would happen. Not able to find the words, she slapped him on the chest aggressively. "Now now, don't you be getting rough with me," he scolded, before leaning his muzzle forward and licking her nose sweetly.

"I swear on…."

"That'll be a first, most I've gotten out of you is _fuck_ , followed by _me_ ," again she glared up at him, seething with her little fury. Seeing as his wife was about to demonstrate how more proficient she was at hand to hand, the fox steered things to safer waters, "So…what're we doing tomorrow?"

"Well, if I don't kill you, we're going to try to survive the next couple of weeks," she grumped, already she could see that things would be awkward around the house.

"There's that, but I meant what do you want to do?"

"Well…I have a friend whose invited me over to dinner this Saturday. I was hoping you'd tag along," she rested her muzzle flat against his chest, looking up at him.

"Sounds like fun," how many more rabbits and prey was he going to have to meat while here. There were predators out here, but they were as common as a needle in a haystack.

"Great, I'll give him a call tomorrow."

"Right," as long as this guy friend of hers didn't hit on her. "Now…seeing as we told your parents about us," his voice semi curios semi suggestive.

"Errrhhhhhh," she groaned exaggeratedly. "Fine, we can be more affectionate in public now, gods get your mind out of the gutter," she giggled, making her mate smile at her affectionately before pressing his muzzle against hers passionately, maybe things weren't as bad as he thought.

 _The next day…..….._

The two officers found themselves outside in one of the vast sized fields, the hot afternoon sun making its way across the sky above them, having passed the pinnacle of the day an hour or so ago. They had both decided to take a walk so they could get out of the house for a while, more for Judy's sanity and for her families safety then the fox's preference. It was his idea originally, seeing as she had threatened to tie a couple dozen or so of her younger siblings by their ankles and hang them from the rafters of the barn. This had been the second time he had seen her so infuriated, last night being the first and probably the ugliest, making the argument at the diner a casual chat in comparison.

It should have been impossible, but somehow or another Judy's sibling had managed to spread the news of them being married, so far that the media had easily found it on furbook, tweeter and other online forums. It hadn't helped when one of her brothers had taken a picture of him kissing her on the head after breakfast. By the time she had tackled him and wrestled the phone out of his paw the picture had been posted on his furbook wall. What had drawn the line that morning was that her parents had tried to talk to her, but refused to do so in front of him.

Considering how things were right now, it was best that they had left their phones in their rooms, or someone was going to end up suffering from the rabbit officer's wrath. Hopefully this walk, and being away from everyone and all their problems like yesterday would cool her off. If it didn't…..well they'd get to that bridge when they got to it, if hadn't burned down already. All her mate could do was walk alongside her, trying his best to bring up light conversation, in order to get to the root of the problem that they were facing. It wasn't as if they hadn't expected this, but they'd been hoping that her parents would be more understanding than his mother. What they were experiencing was just as awkward as it had been in the hospital room with his mother, but now it was constantly hanging over their heads as though they were a magnet for these kind of things.

Maybe it wasn't as bad as they thought it was, it could be that they were just over stressed about the entire situation. Either if it was or wasn't, the next couple of weeks were going to be interesting. Especially when they got back to the station, what would everyone think, what would the chief think was what really concerned them. Would they be forced to pair up with different partners, or be transferred to a different precinct? Questions like these were what concerned Nick, he didn't want to have a new partner, a new office. He was quite comfortable where he was, and also because his mate and him worked so well together.

The rabbits mind was more focused on how to diffuse the awkwardness with her parents and a bunch of her siblings. That along with worrying about the backlash they would be getting from the city and it's denizens. Interspecies relationships as they had discovered weren't widely accepted, there weren't any laws against it like there had been when their folks were growing up. This wouldn't stop how animals would view them for now on, and how the media would blow it up to bigger proportions then it really was.

Already on a news article she had found on furbook earlier that morning was how could anyone trust the ZPD when they allowed such secrets to exist, also how this could lead to bigger more dangerous things to occur. It was enough to make her want to rip her ears out of her skull, yet she refrained from doing this bloody act, doing all she could to stay calm. How her husband was able to not be as anxious about all this as her, she was envious of this, infuriated as well.

"Do you think this is a joke?!" the bunny stopped and turned on her heal, glaring at the fox.

"Wh…what?" his eyes widened a little from her desperate tone.

"How can you be acting…" she waved her hand around her, her eyes darting around their surroundings,"….calm?"

"I…." he grunted dismissively as he shrugged his shoulders, paws shoved into his pant pockets, shades mirroring a dim sun on the right lens.

"Oh come on!" she mimicked his shrug angrily. "That isn't an answer!"

"I don't know, stop yelling at me," he grumbled, not wanting to argue with her.

"Then give me an answer?"

"I don't know, alright!" he barked, throwing his arms up in the air in exaggeration. He gestured at his head," I've just never cared what the media thinks, what anyone else thinks. I've grown u….we've both grown up listening to everyone's else's takes on us, it doesn't bother me anymore," his shoulder slumped, feeling more out of place then tense.

The prey bit her bottom lip, pouting as she considered his words, only to find that he was right. Letting out a sigh she sat down on the ground, pulling a knee up and laying her other leg out, paws pushing her up as she leaned back. The fox couldn't make out any of her face as her hat hid her away from him. Seeing that they needed to vent this out before it got too out of hand he sat next to her, not caring if his clothes got dirty. He looked to his left before taking her hat off, not wanting to see her face as they talked.

"Look, I get it," he breathed, glaring at the dirt. "Everything feels as if it's going to hell right now," she nodded, looking away from him, so he couldn't see her. "But it's not as bad as we think," he wrapped an arm around her shoulder, rocking her in his hold a little.

"How do you know?" her voice sullen.

"I don't, but if I learned anything from you," he nudged her with his nose, trying to cheer her up, "it's that it doesn't matter what other animal's think of you. Don't let this get to you, Judith. You'll see, things will work out, just give it some time."

"Nicholas, this isn't like….." she let out a heavy breath, shaking her head as she looked over her knee, only see rows of produce on either side of them, gently blowing in the wind. "It isn't like anything we've dealt with before. We could lose or jobs," she stated weakly, not wanting to lose something she had strived so hard for, and not just her work.

"We won't," his tone was positive, almost too cheerful for who he was. "They'd have to fire half the station. I mean, Wolford and Fangmeyer are gay and their still there. Lance and Shannon…their something….I think. It doesn't matter what we are, it's not like we've broken the law or anything," he chuckled.

"What about all the bad rep we're giving the ZPD…"

"Trust me, how we handled the missing animals cases and how the mayor was hiding them all, we got nothing to worry about. Anyways, Bogo protects his own, he's not going to let anyone get to us," this he was sure about, they were practically all family at the station. Family that sometimes didn't get along with each other, but they were all willing to risk their own necks for each other.

"I'm such a Dumb Bunny," she sighed.

"Never," he kissed her cheek. "You've just had a lot happen in the last twenty four hours. We, because I'm sort of stuck here with you," this only earned him shaking her head weakly, not commenting. His mood died a little, everything he said was giving him the impression that he was making it worse. She wasn't angry anymore, but she was putting herself down more than she had to.

"Come on, Carrots. Where's that upbeat rabbit we all know and love," he tightened the arm he had around her.

"I don't know," she faced him for the first time since they had sat down, making him do a double take. Her eyes were glossy with the tears that were flowing from them, her muzzle and cheeks damp from where they had fallen, her ears were laid all the way back as well. Before he could act she whopped her head against his side, her arms encircling him and holding onto his close.

"Jud…..Judith," he pulled her into a close hug, stroking her ears and the back of head soothingly. "Come on, it's alright," he hated seeing her cry, since it made him feel uncomfortable and secondly because he hated seeing her like this.

"It's not," he felt his fur getting wet as her tears were soaking through his shirt, only making him hold her closer.

"Yeah, it is," he said softly, resting his muzzle on top of her head as she sobbed into him, a paw clutching a fistful of his shirt and fur in a death grip.

"I…..I just want everything back to normal," her chest was hurting as her breaths became harder to catch as she was drowning herself in her sorrow, her heart pounding painfully once again. She sniffled before she cried out, looking up at the underside of her husband's head. "My parents…..they're so angry with me!" she closed her eyes tightly, more tears coming.

"I know, but they still love you," his voice was gentle, doing the best he could to sooth her. She had been there for him when he had told his mother about them, now it was his turn to be there for her.

"H…..I just want them….to accept us, to…be happy…..for me."

"They are happy for you," he said, lifting his head off of hers, peering into her eyes and removing his shades so she could look into his, even if it did hurt. "I can see how proud they are when they look at you, how much they love you when they talk to you. Their angry because you….we didn't tell them. They're hurt," he whispered to her. "It's my fault, it's both of our faults," he said softly, as she gulped the lump in her throat. "But we'll fix this, I promise we'll make everything right again," kissed her forehead, before pulling her even closer if that was possible. She just nodded into his neck, closing her eyes as she continued to shake as her sobbing made her tremor with every breath.

Somewhere around a quarter or even half of that hour passed, in that time Nick held Judy close, not letting her go as she fought to compose herself. When she had finally stopped crying and her sobs had become nothing more than soft occasional sniffles did his hold on her lessen and once again their eyes locked onto the others, if only briefly. Judy felt very uncomfortable for having broken down in front of her mate as she had, she didn't exactly like being so emotional, especially in front of other animals.

"Yo-you can let me go now," her voice was hoarse.

"You sure?"

"Yeh," she nodded, getting up to her paws as he let her go, dusting her jeans off.

The fox did the same, after he finished though he placed a paw on her face, wiping the remainder of her tears, his signature smile making her do so as well.

"Sorry."

"Don't be," he wrapped an arm around her waist, taking them in the direction they had been previously heading in.

Nick started talking about other subjects, as though what had just occurred had never happened, something he was an expert at. It was something that she hadn't truly appreciated all that much till today. Perhaps he was right, maybe things weren't all that bad as she had thought they were, they had one another. Some days that was all that mattered in the end.

 **HI: Hello Zootopia, can I get some paws and hoofs in the air? What? I can't hear you, come on you can do better. XD I try to make these as entertaining as the chapter…..I said try didn't I? Either way guys, I hope that you enjoyed this chapter, because I sure as heck did writing it. Been waiting to get to this chapter since the first chapter. Man, that was almost thirteen weeks ago, maybe even fewer, anyone know when the first Saturday or Sunday of spring break was in Wyoming, America is? Literally guys, it's been quite a quick couple of months if you ask me, and so much fun to write this story and all the great receptions it's getting from all of you.**

 **Either way folks, this isn't the end, so don't worry, we still got a good number of chapters to get through yet. Trust me, there's a lot more to come after this chapter. If you want a rough estimate, we're either half way through or a third, maybe even two thirds. Who knows, I'm the writer and I haven't a clue, XD. No, but with all joked aside, this story will be over when it's over unfortunately for you who were helping for things to start falling down now. Why? Because I'm enjoying this story so much, and because there's literally a lot to cover still . There's still Nick's father, maybe he has some siblings, maybe not. How about Zootopia's further reactions to two of their role models being mates? What about Nick's mother and how things between them, what about this rumor about Clawhauser and Bogo going around the office? Shannon and Lance's relationship, if there is even one? What about this festival coming up and the media that will be present to report on it? So there's still much to come, so don't worry too much if you're enjoying this and fearing the end.**

 **Before I sign off for the night, or the afternoon, I just want to apologize for the problems that you may have noticed going on with this story this week. I kept getting an Invalid Message 3 error, so I deleted the chapter to see if that would correct it, but it didn't. it was fixed sometime Tuesday, so please thanks Fanfiction dedicated and awesome support teams for fixing these problems and all the hard work they do to maintain this website for us. Now since there were these problems I wasn't able to work on chapter one and fix the mistakes on it, I'll be doing that this Sunday, I mean it this time. So seeing as I've blabbed your ears off so much with this wall of words, I just want to say thanks to all of you for the ideas that you have shared, the reviews, favorites and the follows. All of you, and I mean all of you are fantastic for being so responsive and liking my work. Till next time this is Reverend Archangel, singing off and wishing you a great weekend and hugs and cookies, because who doesn't like hugs, XD. Good afternoon to you all.**


	14. Never Underestimate the Unexpected

_**Chapter XIV**_

 _ **Never Underestimate the Unexpected**_

"He's quite sweet, for a predator anyways," Juan commented, one Judy's younger sister from the fourth litter.

"Well, he's taken," the corners of her muzzle creasing as she smiled. The two of them were leaning in the shade, backs against the wall, arms crossed over their middles.

"I'd never of guessed, with how he's always glued to you," the younger sister looked up from inspecting her paws, which were covered in dust. She nodded at the referred fox, "He's definitely handsome. Thought you'd be more into the muscular type though," she added as they watched him and their father, who were busy working on one of the trucks engines.

"Not really into muscles," Judy shrugged her shoulder, it was character as well as personality that attracted her to an animal, everything else was just additional benefits. "But, he does have amazing back muscles."

"You'd know," Juan giggled, before her cheeks went red. She asked with a curiously. "Ha….have you two…wel-well," the older sister raised an eyebrow as she turned to look at her, "you know?"

"Kissed, hugged, showered together?" she teased her younger sibling who appeared to be a near image of her, only that the top of her nose had black fur instead of being gray, along with the tips of her ears were white.

"No," she twisted a paw into the ground shyly. "Mated?"

"Yeah," she confirmed. It was a natural, instinctual act, there was no reason to be embarrassed about it. Though as she had discovered, there was a lot more to it than that.

"I would of thought…..he's bigger than you…a different species too," the officer giggled, making the other rabbit look away from her, her cheeks having gone scarlet.

"That's what we thought, but things worked out," she confessed, seeing that her siblings face had calmed down after a few moments.

"Did it hurt?"

"The…the first time did," it became uncomfortable for her too, not really wanting to go into detail.

"Was he gentle?"

"More than I thought he'd be," she sighed, as fragments of the emotions in addition to the memories that came to her. Even after two years of so much going on, she could still remember it as clear as day.

"Why a fox though?"

"Why not a fox?" she countered.

"Well…I don't know. I thought you'd be more intraspecies."

"I was…..but Nick opened my eyes to looking for more in animals. I fell in love with who he was, not what's outside. Species doesn't matter, it never should," she explained.

Juan nodded, taking on a thoughtful look, letting it fall quiet between them. The older sister closed her eyes, letting out a slow, content breath through her nose as she felt the warmth of the day brush through her fur from the docile wind. It wa a gorgeous day, blue skies, in addition to the bright rays of sunlight that greeted them. There wasn't much cloud cover though, but that didn't make it any less nice outdoors. Rabbits naturally enjoyed these kind of clear days, as their fur was thinner than their cousin the hare. So a day like this was always greeted happily by her family. This was unless it was during wet season, where they needed all the moisture that they could get.

"I'm sorry," the younger rabbit mumbled, breaking Judy out of her little doze.

"Wh….why?" she was confused.

"You've always told me you wanted kittens," her tone was soft, understanding.

"Yeah, but there's still adoption," not as bothered by this news as she used to be.

"Nick okay with it?"

"He, he tried pushing me away when we got more serious. He didn't want to take that away from me, dumb fox," her voice was full of fondness, shaking her head a little. "It hurt knowing we couldn't ever have our own, but being with him was worth it. He was the one who brought up adoption….we'll have a family soon," she pushed away these thoughts for later. "So what about you an…."

"You two talking about our guest…or should I say our brother in law?" Reyna, Juan's litter mate asked. She was a little shorter than them, by a few centimeters at the very least. Her fur was a light gray, almost matching her white, but she looked like their mother when she was younger.

"If you mean the handsome fox over there, then yep," Juan chirped up, getting a slap on her thigh from Judy.

"Mine," she hissed playfully, the younger doe backing away with both paws up, as though surrendering.

If there was one thing that her fox and her shared in common, was that they were protective, also they were a bit possessive of the other. Nick more so than her. Once she had to scold him for using the scent glands in his muzzle to mark her, something she hadn't known about foxes then. The strange looks she had gotten from other foxes was enough for her to be suspicious. That night a certain tod had to sleep on the couch because she was so furious with him.

"Like he'd know if Ellie wasn't you," the other sister suggested, mentioning the older doe's double ganger from the second litter.

"You'd be surprised," the older of the three shook her head with mirth.

"Oh really?" Reyna challenged. "How'd he be able to know?"

"I have his scent on me," she stated coolly, looking ahead with a unnoticeable smirk. "He has a very keen nose, he can smell things from twenty kilometers away."

"So he can…smell us from over there?" Juan was intrigued.

"Yeah, he helps out a lot with the drug bursts, also the drug searches at the schools."

"Bet he's rough in bed?" Reyna eyed him thoughtfully, but was just trying to get a reaction out of her sister.

"Like you'd be brave enough to date a fox," her litter mate grinned. "You ran off when he introduced himself three days ago."

"I did not! I had laundry to do!" she seethed, before mumbling, "It was cold anyways."

"Mmmhmmmm," the twenty-five year old hummed.

"So…." Reyna studied the eldest from the corners of her green eyes, Juan's blue doing the same."Told him about your ex coming over to win you back?"

"I've told him he's coming over…..but not that," she grumbled. Nick would be understanding, but trying to get her ex to back off was going to be the real challenge. But, her husband could easily scare him off if he got difficult.

"Never seen a fox defend their mate, should be fun to watch," Rey commented, having never liked Judy's mentioned ex. All three watched their father and the fox who were still hunched over, both arms deep in the hood of the truck, that and they were seemingly chattering away contently. Once in a while they would come up, chuckling about something.

"How old is he anyways? Must be in his twenties, right?" Juan piped up.

"He's thirty three this July," the older doe's attention was fixed on her husband, glad that he was still trying to interact with her family.

"Into old men now?" Rey chuckled.

"N-n-no! He's just a little older!" she scoffed at such a question.

"Oh sure, probably because he's had so much experience…."Rey bit her lip, not wanting to seem overly rude. "Sorry, I….."

"It's fine, you're not wrong anyways," her ears lowered a little.

Still, it felt strange to imagine that he had other mates, vixens that had once kissed and clung to him as she did when they were passionate. It would be as awkward as if she suddenly proclaimed that she breathed water and drank air. Not so much along the lines of jealousy…but that he may've had better partners. He had reassured her that she had nothing to worry about, often reassuring her that his old lovers didn't even hold a candle compared to her. Although she often wondered if that was the truth or just him giving her a reassuring lie.

"Our younger siblings seem to have gotten attached to him," Juan said as a side note. "They practically tackled him when you two got back from the station yesterday."

"How'd that go anyways?" the litter mate yawned.

"Good," Judy nodded, trying to stifle back a yawn as it became contagious. "The Sheriff's relieved that he has a couple more hands this year," knowing that her sisters were trying to get her mind off of her doubts, which she was grateful for.

"They didn't overreact to seeing your partner?" Juan asked.

"Not really, the chief sent our information ahead so he'd know what we looked like. Was a bit suspicious of having Nick though, probably because he just doesn't trust foxes."

"Can't exactly blame him, with what Gideon Grey did when you guys were little," Juan scowled, her sister nodded with a tight lip, but she was trying to catch snippets of what their father and brother in law were talking about.

"I used to think the same, then I met Nick, Gideon apologized for being a bully, but it showed me that animals change. They're not just what they appear to be," the older sister explained, knowing this wouldn't be the last time she'd have to. The media would probably be thirsting for answers once they found them.

"Right, but foxes are predators, they're dangerous," deadpanned the green eyed doe.

"All animals are dangerous. You ever have to take down a rhino that's gone savage?"

"Prey can't….."

"Night Howlers, works on prey and predators. I thought that it was just predators that were dangerous. But I've had to see what both are capable of when they're not in the right mind," she interrupted Reyna, wanting to get her two sisters to realize that things weren't what they really were. "Nick and I have had to secure murder scenes that prey and predators were responsible for. Let me tell you, doesn't matter if their claw, bite, or depression marks, they're all just as gruesome, also you can't always tell what kind of animal did it."

"But predators are made to be violent, to attack prey like us. It's in their nature to be more violent," Juan argued as well.

"Maybe, but I've met a lot of predators, they're generally very calm and kind," she thought about it before she changed her approach. "Would you trust a fox or a bunny to look after your kids if you had any Reyna?"

"What?" her voice was surprised, a little hint of suspicion.

"Just answer it?" the officer implored.

"Urmmmmm, well I don't know. Would I know either of them?"

"No, just have to chose absolute strangers."

"Well neither then, I don't want to trust my children to strangers, I'd like to know more about them so I could see if I could trust them."

"Then what's the difference in taking that context to judge predators to prey. You can't just judge strangers because of how they appear as you essentially stated."

"I…..oh," Rey nodded her head, understanding what her older sister was getting at. She'd never thought of it like that, or had anyone say it to her aloud. "Man, that's just shitty. Does your husband have to put up with that?"

"All the time, but more so since he's a fox," she left out the part that her mate used to be the true stereotype that animals believed his kind to be.

"It…..it's like how…. most animals see us…..right?" the blue eyed rabbit inquired of her siblings.

"Yeah, it's exactly how other animals see us," Judy grumbled. "I used to be just like that. When I saw Nick for the first time I judged him because he was a fox. I followed him based on my suspicions that he was another criminal, up to no good. I mean he was," she confessed with a sigh, admitting to them what she wanted to hide. "But when he told me more about his past, what his life used to be like, I couldn't blame him. Animal's prejudices put him where he was, even when he tried to be something else. It's taken three years for him to trust me enough to start opening up more."

"Why does he hide so much from you? You're mates, and you're married! How come he doesn't trust you more?" Juan scoffed with an annoyed chuckle.

"A lot of stuff happened to him when he was a cub which made him cynical in addition to being untrusting towards everyone around him. When I first met him….he was a complete jerk," she could remember his cold, calloused words as clear as the day as she had heard them.

' _"Tell me if this story sounds real to you. Naive little kid with good grades and big ideas decides "Hey look at me, I'm gonna move to Zootopia! Where predators and prey live in harmony and sing Kumbaya!" Only to find, whoopsie: we don't all get along. And that dream of becoming a big city cop: double whoopsie; she's a meter maid. And whoopsie number three-sy: no one cares about her or her dreams. And soon enough those dreams die and our bunny sinks into an emotional and literal squalor living in a box under a bridge until finally she has no choice but to go back home with that cute fuzzy-wuzzy little tail between her legs to become... You're from Bunnyburrows, that what you said? So how about a carrot farmer?"'_

Judy smiled as she also remembered that he had also apologized for what he had said to her. He had done a lot of things before he had left for a year for the police academy, this being one of them. She had put what he had said behind them, but he had insisted that he made up for what he had said. It wasn't all serious like she had thought it would be, but his words had been sincere enough for her to accept his amusing apology. Her voice took a fond tenderness as she told her sisters who were to either side of her.

"He still gets on my nerves and I constantly want to taser him, but he's not like he used to be," she gave a dry chuckle to that before she added, "I wouldn't want another animal watching my back when on duty," her voice was soft, almost distant.

The other two rabbits gave simple nods, their eyes fixing on other things as they thought about what had been said. Judy knew that they were just worried as well as concerned for her, the concept of being with an animal outside their species still very foreign to them. Yet how they were feeling about her mate was understandable but it wasn't any less infuriating. How was it that she was able to open her eyes and push aside the worlds prejudices and views so easily. Did other animals simply not see what she could see in him, or his kind. Not just foxes but what about the animals that shared the same unjustifiable outlooks of society.

This she already knew but it was generally predators that were treated differently. When Bellwether was in charge, the predators in Zootopia had been almost turned on by their neighbors and friends who were prey. She had seen I on the train when that mother had moved her child away from that male tiger, who was just listening to his music. She partially…. mostly held all the fault for what happened on herself. This was all because she had jumped to conclusions based on what she thought she had observed. It had been fixed, but even now the damage could still be felt, not just in her city but in others that had been affected globally due to how they had handled it. The relationship between prey and predators had never been great, but the Night Howlers fiasco hadn't exactly helped.

It wasn't a noticeable change that statistics or rates could show. No. It had to be observed, one had to have been around before the events that Bellwether had let roll in. All so one could compare to how things were presently and before. The prey and predator populations were getting along, but it was easy to feel the tension between the different classes of mammals. From working in the field so much she saw this more than some of her coworkers. What she saw was difficult to explain to her husband, but he had just shrugged his shoulders, telling her that it had always been like this. Maybe it wasn't like it was now, but it had always been there.

Even in Bunnyburrows, which was a few hundred miles away from the city, she could feel how wary predators were of prey and vice versa. It could be that predators were the minority of populations across the world. Yet she hadn't once seen them being so suspicious and secretive around prey as they were now. Hitherto, what had happened was horrible for them. They had grown up feeling like they were outcasts, having to be raised to understand that prey didn't trust them, that the world were considered to be dangerous. Prey had always been naturally intimidated and frightened of animals bigger than them, but throw in sharp claws and fangs and it was their worst nightmare.

 _Just give it some time…it'll all sort itself out, but how lon-long will that be._ The doe felt a shiver run up her spine from her subconscious words. Finding them eerily familiar to her husband's advice on matters out of their control. But she hadn't ever been the bunny to let things go, to let things settle themselves out by themselves, to let others handle things when she was just as capable. Begrudgingly she had to admit that he was right, this was out of her control. She may have been a pawn to help wedge the gap between society, at least for a short few weeks, but it was up to society to repair the damage, so they could all get passed this.

Nonetheless, Judy still felt a great deal of responsibility for the events that ensured when she nigh on just handed Zootopia into Bellwether's hoofs on a silver platter. She had been so sure it was Mayor Lionheart, everything told her it was him. Even Nick thought it was him but he had suggested to her that things still didn't feel as if they added up. Almost as if someone had pushed them along, to look in the right places. It was enough to make her head hurt as she looked back on it, everything had been so obvious. The obscurity of how the answers hid in plain sight since the beginning, it made her sometimes wonder if Nick knew before her. If he had, why hadn't he told her?

This was just her being paranoid, it wasn't like the movies where there was a huge conspiracy to everything. If there was, well she might be able to figure it out but it would be so easy to cover her disappearance or sudden death. That was the movies though, real life was much more dangerous and unpredictable then them. Her mate being shot was enough proof to support that. Though one could argue that his attempted murder was almost comically movie like with how it had been planned, what had actually led up to it. He had confessed as much when he was recovering in the hospital, but he had been dosed up on painkillers.

"Hey guys?" her brother Tristen greeted, putting down a crate full of what looked like scrap metal. "What're you up to?"

"Not much," Rayna blinked with tired eyes, giving a short momentary once over at her older brother.

"Just hanging out," her litter mate said distractedly, following a butterfly fluttering behind him.

"Can see that, how about you Jud?" the second oldest male from the second litter inquired, sitting on the edge of the crate.

"Just thinking," the eldest shook her head, clearing her mind of her thoughts once again.

"Yeah, see that too. You have this pout when you're thinking, or you rub your bottom lip," he rolled his shoulders before looking over his shoulder, looking over to what Rayna's attention was on. The buck was roughly Nick's height, a bit more muscular, but still scrawny for a rabbit, plus being considerably taller than the rest of their family. "How are things going for you and Nick?"

"It's getting better. Mom and Dad are still adjusting to the news," she pushed off the wall, stepping out from the shade.

"Well I like him," the buck stated, his neck popping as he rolled it.

"Thanks Trist," she gave him a weak punch to the shoulder. He rolled his eyes with a thin grin, before getting back on his paws, picking up the box.

"Well, I got to get this to Ford and Harrison, need this junk to fix one of the tractors or some shit like that. I don't know, I just weld the shit they tell me," he grumbled as he started heading toward the workshop, but suddenly stopped. "Crap, right," he looked over his right shoulder. "Judy, your phone was ringing so I answered it….ummm, some guy was asking about when you and Nic…fricking A, English sucks. When Nick and you were showing up?"

"Oh, thank you," she nodded, as she started to head into the house, waving goodbye to her siblings, who waved back before they started heading off to do their assorted chores.

 _That Evening….._

"So, this friend of yours owns a pie shop, and works with your folks?" Nick questioned as they started walking in the direction of the mentioned shop.

"Yep, he's a pretty nice guy, always asking my parents if they need a hand with anything, when he has the free time at least," Judy hopped a little with every step, excited to introduce her husband to her friend.

This made the fox raise an eyebrow at her questioningly, "This guy….wasn't one of your exes, was he?"

"Wh-what! No!" she laughed. "No, we were just friends. Well…not really, we didn't get a long when we were younger," she hopped over his tail, bouncing around him. "But we both grew up, eventually" she did a little spin on her next step, a cloud of loose dirt coming up. The fox grinned, seeing that she was back to her chirpy self.

"It wouldn't matter, I don't share," he tried to snag her tail but she jumped a little out of his reach, smiling at him challengingly.

"Need to be faster than that!"

"Uhhhhhhh, take it easy on me, Fluff, I'm not as young as I used to be," he looked away from her to see that some animals were giving them sideways looks, only to mutter amongst themselves, eyes darting back to them with hard glares.

"Ignore them," she took his paw, pulling him so he was walking again, having stopped to glare back at the unwanted spectators threateningly. His attention snapped back to her, seeing that she was giving him a wide smile, softening his mood, "It doesn't matter what they think."

"Spoil the fun, wanted to scare them," he moped, acting as a cub did after having been told off.

"Oh you big baby," she scolded as he started to dig his paws into the ground. She finally lunged for his tie, causing him to stumble a few steps forward as she tightened the noose around his neck.

"Really, going for my tie. So low brow," he spoke in mock-distaste, coughing a little as he straightened it out.

"Stop misbehaving then," she shot back, pulling him along to the where they were having dinner with her friend.

"I can't promise anything," his paw lingered over his pocket, his phone having vibrated. It was tempting, but he changed his mind, a question suddenly rushing to him. "So…Wilde or Hopps…we ever going to settle that?"

"Out of all the places to ask," she shook her head with a small smile. Her husband swiftly stepped in front of her, making her stop as he rested his paws on her shoulders.

"I know, it's puuuurfeeeccct?" he murred as he brought his face to her level. "So what's it going to be officer, Wilde or Hopps…..or something a little more exotic?" there was barely a centimeter between their muzzles, his hot breath washing over her face, causing her gray fur to sway lightly. Her eyes landed on the fox's lips, the desire to press hers against them becoming too tempting to pass up.

"Nick," her warm breath making his mauve nose twitch, "we shouldn't," she mumbled, becoming self very conscious of everything, how some of the animals were holding them with their scrutinizing stares. She started rubbing her left upper arm, looking down to the right, ears lowering slightly.

The tod's emeralds glanced around them, seeing that they had a small audience, but he returned his focus to her amethysts. They belonged to all that mattered to him, everyone else was simply just there, their opinion non important.

"Who cares what they think," he leaned closer, locking their muzzles together, for a brief second before pulling away. She blushed a little as she smiled, finding that he had a dreamy expression written upon his visage.

Shrugging out of his gentle hold she then dodged underneath his arms as he tried to catch her again. "I don't really know," she had taken a few steps away before she peered over her shoulder, he wasn't behind her.

"Well, let's decide soon," he breathed as he wrapped an arm around her waist, having snuck up on her left side. Judy looked up at his expression finding it very smug, no signs of frustration or impatience, that may have been because he had gotten away with their first public kiss. "I don't really care, but it makes filling out paperwork so much easier. Getting sick of the bank asking about why we have a shared saving deposits, along with the accounts," he nuzzled the top of her head, taking in a few ticklish sniffs. "That and I don't want our kids hating us," his smirk grew in amusement, his eyes glazing over as he took in her scent.

"But it'd be fun, you can have your little Wilde Gang and I have my Hopps Squad," she giggled.

The reynard groaned as he found what she said to be almost cringe worthy. "Never say that again," he mumbled.

"It wasn't that bad," she grinned.

"You're right, it was awful," she gave a flat slap to his stomach making him suck in a breath.

"Not as terrible as some of the ideas for our surnames," she countered. "Polaris, Fulcrum, Zero, Omega….." she listed.

"Not hearing you come up with any," he chuckled, knowing that he hadn't been serious with any of them.

"Well…why don't we just mix our surnames."

"I'm not having Nicholas P. Hilde, Wopps, Wippes or anything like that on my headstone," he proclaimed seriously.

"Fine, we'll settle for…" she didn't know whose name would work better. She liked both of their surnames, they flowed well with their first and middle names.

"We'll think about it. I want it to be up to you though," he admitted. "My n…."

"Wilde."

"Yep, still here," he was curious if this was a question or her choice.

"Wilde works for me," she always liked her husband's last name.

"Sure?"

"Certain," he tightened his arm around her waist, paw rubbing over her hip through the blue jeans she wore.

"Well, Mrs. Wilde," he said with finality, enjoying that this had been settled. "Let's hurry along. Don't want to keep your friend waiting."

The shorter officer nodded, hiding how nervous she actually was about tonight's dinner. Her friend wouldn't cause any problems, but Nick sometimes struggled with jealousy, especially when it concerned her. Hopefully he wouldn't act up later on in the evening, or she'd have to have a talk with him. She doubted that he would misbehave, but it was always better to be cautious when it came to matters such as this. Too many times had she walked into a situation unprepared, only to suffer for the consequences later, or immediately at that moment.

It was possible that she was stressing about nothing, which was reasonable from what had occurred that week. Tonight would more than likely go as she was hoping it would, a night out with her husband and a friend, leaving what was going on with her family behind them for a few hours. Honestly, maybe her mate's pessimism was starting to rub off on her a bit too much. He was the one who saw the worst outcome to matters, while she always looked for the bright side to it all. Seven out of ten times, her partner was usually correct in his assumptions of things playing out against their favor, due to him possessing a more rational and realistic view on the world than her. She thought along these lines as well, but she liked to give the benefit of the doubt that things weren't as bad as they made them out to be.

"Ahhhhh, can smell his pies from here," the tod took in a deep breath through his nose before letting out a loud, please exhale.

"You like?" she teased, nudging him in the ribs with an elbow. All she got in reply was a soft purr, that along with his tail starting to wag behind him weakly as it stirred. This was something that she had always found to be intriguing to watch. Along with having such a long appendage connected to her spine, this concept alone was foreign to her. It seemed more of a nuisance than anything else, as she had stood on his once or twice, causing him a lot of discomfort and pain. Though it wasn't all bad, since she had found through a few of her experiments that he thoroughly loved it when she stroked it tenderly. Not too much pressure, but if she got it just right he was putty in her paws.

When they got to the front of the shop she rasped her knuckles against the windows wooden frame. The sign on the other side of the pane had been flipped to show that it was closed. It was roughly around eight in the evening now, the sun only just being above the horizon line of the mountains in the distance. Though they couldn't see this because they were hidden in the interweaving streets and the tall buildings, which were casting large shadows across the town.

The rabbit officer's partner searched around them, waiting patiently with her, his arm still circled around her, making her feel safe and at ease. Her eyes also started to mosey about their surroundings, finding that the streets were empty for the most part. She saw plenty of animals walking about, but it wasn't like the usual mass that they had become accustomed to seeing in the day. Not exactly the serene calm that her parent's harbored, but it wasn't the deafening chatter that it had been when they had come in.

The older mammal smacked his lips together, making a few popping noises before he banged against the frame with his own knuckles, making the glass wobble in its framing. "See, that's how you knock," he cooed, like he was addressing a child.

"And this is how you make your husband cringe," she snapped her incisors together as she gave a close nip to his side, he flinched a little but other than that he was still.

"Ohhhh, you want to go there," his tone laced with a soft growl.

"…Oh right, all right! Keep yeh damn fur on, I'm comin," a voice called from somewhere inside.

"Must have been taking care of business," the tod alluded to coolly. This in turn earned him another elbowing to his lower ribs.

"Shhhhh!" she shushed but hid back a grin.

"….anyway, we're closed, come back in the mor….." they saw the other vulpine on the other side pull the door open, before his words died in his mouth, before a grin spread. "Why Miss Judy! Good teh see yeh again," he opened the door more, beckoning the two of them. "Come in, was just puttin the food in teh oven," he smiled cheerfully.

"Good to see you again too, Gideon," the rabbit greeted, smiling as well as she pulled away from Nick, walking in as well. Her husband followed her in, not minding that she left his hold, seeing how upbeat she was.

"So whose yeh friend?" he offered a paw to the other male who took it, both smiling as they greeted. Judy noticed that Nick seemed to be extra happy about something, as he wa chuckling as he smiled.

"I'm Nicholas Wilde, and your Gideon Grey? Judy's told me a lot about you," he greeted.

"She's told meh a lot abot yeh self as well," the younger fox let go of the other's paw, a questioning look in his eyes, but whatever it was he didn't voice it. "Anywho, just hed up teh stairs at teh back, I got to close up still."

"Alright if you insist," Nick nodded, turning to only realize her amethyst pools were following him.

"What's up, Carrots?" he posed politely, walking over to where she was leaning against a chair.

"I don't know, the fan," she pointed up to the one above her which was motionless.

"You're staring, something you like?" he sauntered over to her, a playful glint in her eye as he stood next to her, taking in the little shop. All the round tables had a light sky blue table cloth atop them, with crimson red cushioned seats around them. The walls in addition to the ceiling were painted a silky cream color, the curtains were cloud white with small swirling blue patterns.

"Nothing like that," she nudged his side making him grin as he bumped her back with his hip. "Just glad to see you two getting along."

"He's not really a threat for me," his eyes widened in surprise. "Don-don't you know?"

"Know what?"

"I…right, you rabbits don't have as sensitive noses as mine," he tapped it with the tip of his finger.

"What do you mean? Do you smell something on him?" her curiosity raising.

"No, no, no!" he faced his padded paws to her, eyes closed as he shook his head, pointed ears titled at an angle, "It wouldn't be right if I told you," he rambled on, "I mean, if he hasn't told you, I should let you figure it out for yourself."

"Come on, just tell me!" she pleaded as he started heading up the stairs, catching a puzzled expression from Gideon as he was emptying the register. He shook his head as his guests headed up the stairs.

"I'm serious, you got to figure this out yourself," the tod waved off her pleading with a wave of his hand, dismissing it, or at least trying to.

"Stop messing with me, what is it?" Judy shoved him in the back as they came up on the landing. The fox stumbled, barely catching himself on the wall.

"No!" he grinned at her, knowing full well that she hated it when he kept her in the dark about such things. "I'm having too much fun with this."

"Your such a jerk you, Dumb Fox," she growled, actually becoming irritated with how he was acting.

"Ahhh, you wound me with your cute insults," he walked further down the corridor, which was painted the same color as the rest of the walls. He opened the door that led them into the house.

"Swear…one of these days…..I'm-urhhhhhhh!" she groaned, not being able to come up with a good enough of a threat.

"Sorry, Carrots. My lips are sealed," the reynard swore as he rested a paw over his heart, and raising his other. "Scouts honor, and yatta, yatta and all that other stuff," he finished with his head held high, with a very serious and confident voice. Afterwards he found a seat at the dining room table, crossing a leg across his knee.

"Fine, keep all your secrets and being all mysterious," the rabbit accused exasperatedly, wiggling her fingers at him.

"I will," he sighed, having had his fun for now. "Nice crib he has here," he nodded approvingly. "Much roomier than our place."

"Yeah, it's nice…..feels a little lonely though. Can't imagine living alone in such a roomy place," she saw out of corner of her vision her partner snickering, he hid his lips behind a paw, pretending to cough.

"Maybe he just likes being alone," he thought aloud before crossing his arms on the table, leaning forward. "So is this the same guy who gave you those scars, the guy who used to bully you a lot?"

"Urmmmm, yeah he is," her voice having become soft, her nerves returning.

"He…seems decent," Nick begun, "but we both know looks are deceiving," she nodded in agreement to this. "I like him, he's a nice guy," he added. "Seems we can all change given enough time, right partner?" she had sat down next to him as he talked, worry filling up in her chest. That was before he reached a paw over to hers, covering it with his larger one.

"Right," she agreed. "Not jealous at all?" she teased.

"Hehehe, good one," he rolled his emerald hues. "Trust me though, I got nothing to worry about with him. I'm pretty sure he wouldn't be interested in you anyways," he meant this as a hint, but it backfired a little.

"What's that posed to mean?" a frown tore across her muzzle.

"I didn't mean it like that," he tried to explain quickly. "It's just that I don't think he's on the same road as us," he patted her paw. "If you ask him, you'll figure it out."

"Okay, keep acting strange, Slick," she sighed. Was her mate acting this strange on purpose or was this just a side she had never noticed about him till now.

"Says the bunny whose legs thumps duri….." he gave a loud yelp before he hurriedly scooted away with his chair, having been kicked in the shin rather aggressively.

"Sorry," she said with a innocently sweet voice. "I thought there was a spider on you," rapping her digits on the maple wood table, waiting for their host.

"Fuuuu…Christ!" he hissed, pulling his sore leg, gripping it in both paws as he tried to knead the pain away. "I keep forgetting how hard you can kick," he glared at her, a little bit cross with her, though he knew he had provoked her.

"I'm a rabbit, Sweetheart, we got strong legs," she grinned evilly.

"Obviously, evil little bucktooth devil," he mumbled, looking away from her as he sulked. This didn't last long as they soon heard the click of the door opening, followed by it snapping shut.

"Sorry for keepin yeh waitin," the plump red fox greeted, pulling a chair for himself after he walked into the kitchen, checking the food on the stove and in the oven."Dumb register got stuck, again," he rolled his eyes, flecking his left paw stiffly.

"There's always the rolling pin," Nick chuckled, having observed this.

"Nah, the pin doesn't deserve that," the other male grinned.

"Nor does your paw," Judy cut in.

"Ahhh, you know me, not the brightest knife around," he rolled the same paw as he gestured to the entire room.

There was a short pause as the trio thought of what to bring up for conversation. Nick started drumming against the cloth covered wood, thinking of matters that Judy couldn't quiet discern. Gideon was leaning back in his chair, arms crossed as he stared at the table, a small smile tugging at his lips, noticeably thinking of something or the other amusing. The prey was resting her arms on the table, her chin settled on them, ears laid back as she grew a little bored.

"So…..two predators walk into a bar," Nick's voice was avoid of emotion, growing bored of the stale air, "they walk up to the bartender who naturally asks, "What can I get you two?" The wolf says, "I could go for Blood on the Rocks," the bartender asks the other for his taste, who replies. "I'll have a Bloody Marry." The bartender walks into the back room for a few moments and they hear someone shriek. Bartender comes back, "That'll be twelve dollars, sir," Nick started laughing and leaned back.

"Oh god, that was just terrible," the other fox chuckled, covering his eyes with a paw.

"That was horrible Nick," Judy groaned but was forcing back a smile.

"Everyone's a bloody critic," the older male grumbled, as he slouched into his chair. He mumbled out. "What do you got cooking?"

"Got a pie in the over for dessert, on the stove I got some lasagna cooling off."

"Smells great," the other officer stated.

"It's nothin much really, but thanks Judy," the baker blushed a little, not used to getting much praise from animals.

"Trust me, whenever Judy cooks something with the stove it burns," Mr. Wilde chuckled, directing a thump at his wife.

"It does not!" Judy exclaimed.

"Does, remember last week. You burnt rice, how do you burn rice?" her husband asked the other male.

"It couldn't have been that bad, you still ate it!" she accused.

"Yeah, but the point is you can't cook, Judith," he teased.

"Then you can just cook yourself, happy now!" the rabbit chuckled a little now, remembering her partners face as he was chewing the rice.

"Yeah, I might live longer!"

"I'm surprised," Gideon voiced having been quiet as his guests bickered. "With your mother bein such a great cook, I thought that you'd have picked somethin up from her," Gideon chuckled as well.

"Oh, you two would make such a pair," she sighed.

"Hmmmmm, I'm way too fabulous for him, he'd only be upset when I get all the attention," Nick's voice had taken a stereotypical gay edge.

"You wouldn't hear me complainin," the younger fox played along.

"Bet I'd have some competition, am I right?" the older vulpine nudged the other with an elbow, being sat in-between he was closer.

"Yep, don't think my partner would be too pleased!" the larger fox grinning. Judy then caught something shiny flash on Grey's left paw. It was a gold band.

"You're married?" she somewhat blurted out with surprise.

"Urmmmmmm," the two predators fell silent, both being caught off guard. Gideon ran his claws through his dark hair. "Yep, been for since, shoot, it must be three years now," he confessed.

"If you haven't heard already, we've been together for two years now," Nick confessed, making the other fox's eyes widen in surprise.

"Nicholas!" she hissed. It was hopeless since what her mate had said supported what he had let loose. Animals that they knew and didn't know would eventually know because of their relationship having gone national, maybe even global by now.

"That explains why the two of yeh are bickerin so much," the baker nodded with a grin, looking back and forth between the two. "To be quite frank though, I read somethin about it on meh phone a couple days ago. I didn't believe it though, but I'm happy for the two of yeh," he said with a smile.

"Thanks," Nick smiled, glad that his wife's friend was so accepting of their relationship. "Now, where's your hubby at, will he be joining us tonight?"

"How…how did yeh know?" Grey exclaimed a little defensively.

"Could smell another males pheromones on you, can't place what animal he is though."

"Thought that the shower would've gotten rid of it," he rubbed his paws over his face.

"Try using sulfur soaps, it's better to hide scents then the other products," Nick suggested.

"Thanks, you'd two would be more understandin than most of teh folks around 'ere don't accept things bein out of the norm," he mumbled. "Interspecies and being homosexual out here isn't…well you know it's not liked that much," the other two mammals shook their heads in agreement.

"Don't worry, we won't tell anyone," Judy reassured the fox that had once been her childhood bully, who was now a close family friend. Nick just patted him on the back, knowing better than most what it felt like to be seen as an outcast. Gideon gave them a thankful expression, before sighing, his mood having dampened a little.

"Will he be joining us?" Judy asked as a few minutes passed them by.

"Yep, was just making the last delivery for the night, should be back any minute now."

They all sat up a little as the little bell above the door of the shop rung, and the door being closed shut with a gentle bang.

"Speak of the devil himself," Nick muttered.

"It's like he knows that I'm talken about him," Grey chuckled in agreement. There was a few moments of silence before they heard the door to the house being opened and closed, then the male calling out.

"Whatever that is, it smells good," the voice sounded familiar to Judy, but she couldn't place where she had heard it before. "Better have saved me some!" the male added.

 _That sounds like…no it couldn't be._ She thought only for the next instant to shoot up from her chair, knocking it over.

"Jonathan!" she just about shouted. Standing at the end of the corridor, with wide almost forest green eyes that were fit to bust from shock and absolute terror. Was a buck that was only a little taller than herself, with brownish-tan fur that he had inherited from his mother's father. Who had just dropped the paper bags that he had walked in with, contents all rolling in every which direction. Standing directly in front of her, was her oldest brother from the second litter.

"Judy!... Well…urmmmm…Shit!"

* * *

 **HI: Hello my fellow Zootopians. Seems things just ended on a cliffhanger for these guys, hug. Lol. I know, I'm sick evil sodding giet, aren't I XD? Couldn't help myself but to end the chapter like this. Don't worry, we'll be jumping straight back into the thick of it in Chapter XV, along with more interesting and strange drama still to come. I can't imagine any of your reactions to this, but I have to admit it must be something of annoyance or just humorous frustration, because I did it once again. Anywho, I really hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, I struggled with it and wasn't so sure that it was going to be any good, but I'm glad how it came out.**

 **Now, we get to the bad news. Yeah, folks this is bad news to you who have been enjoying this story. Don't be leaning too far in your seats, or into your phones screen, this is in no ways a Hiatus warning, or me telling you guys that I just can't be bothered anymore. It's nothing like that. What I want to inform you all about is that I am graduating high school tomorrow. Thank god it's over! But seeing as I am officially an adult I will be having to get a job in the next month so as to get my way into college. Updates will still be once a week, so not really bad news, as of yet. Well, there is still. I'm heading off to Australia to visit some family for two weeks. I'm going to try and type up chapters XV and XVI when I'm over there, but no promises since I'm going to traveling all over the place there. I'll try, I promise you that. That's the only bad news I have for you. Haha, you guys probably thought it was something terrible. NOPE! Just there may be a short pause for two weeks if I can't get enough time.**

 **This is Reverend Archangel signing off for the afternoon wishing you a great start of the summer seasons, not just for the U.S.A, but to everyone from all the different regions and nations reading this story. Thanks again everyone for supporting this story, being patient and enjoying my work. If you're hoping for heavy drama, it's coming, right after the Bunnyburrows' sections. Or is it? I could be throwing you guys for a loop again, who knows, we'll find out together. Now this is me signing off, wishing you all a great rest of the weekend, and rest of the week. Big hugs for everyone! XD**

 **P.S. Please tell me if I didn't capture Gideon Grey accurately, I am trying all the characters out when I can, to introduce more dynamics and other stuff of that sort. Also if their are paragraphs and sections that makes little to no sense, please also inform me. It's been a hectic week with my parent's house being full of relative who've come to see my sibling and I graduate. Now goodnight folks.**


	15. Awkward Dinner among Family

_**Chapter XV**_

 _ **Awkward Dinner among Family**_

"Ohhhh, God!" the fox officer cried out as he fell into a fit of laughter , "your family's officially more dysfunctional than mine! Just tooooo funny!"

"How is this funny Nick?!" the doe spun on her heels, facing away from her brother who was practically frozen underneath the arch of the corridor.

"Ho-how? Are you serious?" he exclaimed throwing his arms out in front of him, before leaning sitting back, paw pressed against his forehead as he sniggered uncontrollably. "It-i…..it's just…ahhhhhh there just….ooohhhhh boy…there are no words, for how classic this is," he fought to say something comprehensible to his partner.

Judy ground her teeth together, the sound filling the air around her with an ominous growl. This seemed to break her brother out of his stupor as he collapsed to his knees and started snatching up the groceries he had dropped a few moments before. Gideon got up, keeping a safe distance from the other two mammals as he lent a paw to his mate. The two were able to collect everything from the floor before they headed into the kitchen, neither understanding what was going on between the other couple.

"Judith, come on," the fox burred, sitting up in his chair," don't be mad with me," he forced his remaining mirth back, not wanting to aggravate the twenty kilograms of mass that was his wife. "It…..oh come on don't give me that look," he sighed, gesturing a paw at her scowl.

She gave a piercing, "Hmmppphhh!" before she turned away from him, crossing her arms indigently, her elongated gray ears snapped stiffly against her back, instead of being baggy and at rest. Her left one twitched a little as she took deep breaths to try and calm herself down, knowing that she was overreacting.

The tod heard her using her breathing technique, as such he gave her the room she needed till she blew off her excess steam. Leaning back in his chair, he observed in his peripheral vision their hosts whispering to one another. He had to confess that they did make an interesting couple of sorts. It wasn't though something that he could personally see himself being, but he wasn't opposed to it. As he saw it, what right did he have to judge other animal's relationships, especially with his wife's and his being the way it was. Love was love as far as he was concerned in his book, why label it or hold prejudices against it.

"Sorry," the other officer murmured, facing her husband once again.

"Ahhhh, I expect it. You guys have such little fuses," a minute smirk broke out on his lips. She opened her mouth to retort but he held up a paw, a gesture that they both used when they weren't done. "Not mad at me are you?"

"No…..I don't know what happened there, sor….."

"You say sorry way too much, Carrots," he pulled her chair closer to his, patting the cushioned seat. After taking the few steps between them she climbed back in it, seeing as it wasn't made for her height. Her husband placed a paw on her upper leg before rubbing it soothingly. "Really, you do," he imposed. "Now, stop beating yourself up so much. You…..we've had a crazy-bunny-filled week, let's try and have some fun tonight, alright?"

"Right," she agreed with a few hesitant nods.

"That's my gurl," as he said this he ruffled the fur atop her head, causing it to stick up in every which way. Brushing the gray fur down with a paw she gave him a hard glare, but as she opened her mouth, her brother walked in.

The buck that was more or less two years younger than herself, was covering himself with his arms, his ears were laid back, his tree green eyes cast downwards. He made a noise but snapped his incisors together with a sharp clack, indecision written all over him. The three animals caught the sound of whistling coming from the kitchen, stealing her brothers interest as he glanced over his shoulder. It appeared as though he was weighing if he should go back or stay, no matter what he decided they'd have to talk about it eventually.

"I urmmmm, well Ju…ermmmm," his right paw scratched nervously against his left arm, a habit that had started when he was six.

"Jonathan," the older sister's voice was tender, knowing that he was terrified, if his paw tapping nervously on the floor was anything to go by.

"Judy!" his eyes shot back up from the floor where they had been for the last minute or so. "I…..please, please don't be mad," he whimpered a little, closing his eyes tightly.

"What! Why would I be mad?" she waved to the chair on the other side of the table.

"I, I don't know," he pulled out the tucked in seat before taking his place. "Th-the way yo-you ac-acted when I-I walked i-in, I was-wasn't…" he let out a frustrated sigh, catching himself stuttering. "You seemed upset when I walked in."

"I'm not upset, just surprised," the doe reached a paw over, he scooted his further atop the table and let her pat it. "I knew you were gay…..I just, well I never expected…..Gideon…..you…any of this really," she mumbled, this was all very perplexing and out of the blue.

"Ohhh, that….that makes sense," he mumbled, his shoulders which had been tense, abruptly drooped in disappointment.

Judy cast her mate a glance, which he answered with a slight shrug. He was leaning forward, resting his heads weight on a paw that was propped up on his other one, which like the rest of his arm, was lounging against the wood furnishing. Other than that he appeared to be more content to listen than to really be any assistance in the matter at paw.

"What's wrong?" she tried to encourage her brother to open up. He looked up from the laid out set of tableware, his green eyes locking onto hers for the first time since he walked in.

"Yo-you won't tell Mom and Dad? Will you?"

"Of course not, that's something you and Gideon will have to do."

"No way!" he scoffed, instantly becoming defensive. "I heard from our brothers and sisters about that group chat, that they weren't too happy about the latest bit of news."

"No they weren't, but it'll be a lot worse if they find out from someone else, or further down the road," she groaned, fully aware of how truly stubborn her brothers were to matters such as these.

"Tristen told me exactly what Dad to….screamed at you guys," he threw his arms out wide as he fell back against his chair's rest. "I'm…..I'm a homosexual," he sighed miserably. "Plus I'm an interspecies relationship, so double whammy for m….us! If what happened with you two was horrible, what I tell them will be a complete an utter disaster."

The fox audibly coughed into one of his paws, getting their attention. Satisfied that they were listening he rolled the same paw, seemingly as if he was trying to pull the words that he was searching for from the air itself.

"Look, Johnny….I can call you Johnny, right? Or would John work better?"

"Johnny's fine."

"Well, from what I've noticed about your folks this last week, is that they are…..well a bit specieist. But they also love you and all of your siblings. They like most parents want what's best for you. Eye opener!" he snapped his clawed digits open dramatically in front of his face. "They got it wrong. Oh well, that's life for us. So, that means that they're not perfect, they make mistakes like everyone else. Maybe they'll be upset, maybe disappointed that you didn't invite them to your wedding, et coetera , et coeteraaa!" the older vulpine voice was calm, yet his eyes were intensely focused on the buck. "Now, if they're the lovely, loving dubley rabbits who raised you and all that great stuff, then they'll understand and still love you." he cheered taking on a mock-cheery attitude.

"What if they don't?" the youngest mammal mumbled, his eyes bland of any emotion as he looked at the officer, ears limp against his skull.

"Well…..that'll be up to you guys. If they can't accept you for who you are…..maybe they're…." Nick closed his mouth, the unpleasant memories of what occurred between his mother and him forcing itself to the forefront of his thoughts. With a steadying quiet breath he managed to bat it away, at least for the time being, only to come straight back to grips with what he was dealing with. He continued….."Then they're not the people who you thought they were. Sorry bud, but that's how it works," he shrugged, his own mood having dampened a little. The doe had caught onto this, yet she didn't know what could possibly be getting him down. This would have to be brought up at another time, since she wanted to handle this first.

A few moments of harsh silence passed them by as they sat at the table. None of them knowing what to add or to say to this subject, till Jonathans snarled out.

"I didn't even know you guys were coming over! I knew we were having guests but I thought it was some of our friends who already knew…..not you two," he mumbled grouchily as his irritation waned. "I'm Going to kill that fox after you guys leave," he added with a voice was that was as dry and avoid of any sentiment, akin to Sahara District.

"We can go if it will make things easier," Judy recommended, sitting up a little in her chair, just in case her brother did wish for them to leave

"No, no, no," Jonathan shook his paw lightheartedly. "You're our guests, and it'll be…. pleasant to have a couple in the same…..well predicament as us," the buck offered a diminutive, tepid smile, his incisors showing through the small space between his lips.

"Lucky you're not us," her husband said, bringing his head up from his arms, shaking it a little as he forced a weary smirk. "We're basically the undisputed faces of the ZPD, plus the media and paparazzi constantly love getting camera time with us ….that and we sort of saved the city, remember. So at least you two can actually lay low, or you'd never be able to get any peace and quiet," he pulled out his phone and showed the buck the screen.

"What am I looking at exactly?"

"Where my thumb is, see that big number," her brother hummed in verification before his eyes shot open in shock.

"Ho….how many? That can't be right!"

"Well trust me, I've had to delete roughly five almost seven thousand messages, emails and texts, ever since the news about our life went viral," his voice was smug, but also layered with dissatisfaction. "Being finally recognized, but only as Judy Hopps husband," he grumbled, but cheered up as he nuzzled his mate's downy furred cheek with his muzzle. Merely to get pushed away from, his courser fur brushing against her in ticklish fashion. "Fluff here was smart enough to not be a social bug. But, you did get that nasty email yesterday, didn't you?"

"Don't remind me." Judy rubbed her temples with a groan, a headache brewing from just thinking about all the messages they'd been getting the last few days. From hate mail, to support, to outrage, and a few congratulations, along with some very vivid messages as well. It was already clear that they'd be in the public's scrutinizing and piercing sights for a while.

"You two going to be okay?" the buck asked as his mate walked into the room with a glass dish full of lasagna, having had enough time to cool off by now.

"This isn't the first time we've thrown the city upside down," Nick reassured, his focus soon being stolen by the dish that had been set nearly a meter away from where he sat. He wasn't able to help himself as he licked his chops, this though was considered rude when at the table. As he was about to do it again, his partner elbowed him in the side, forcing him to snap his attention to look her way. His ears lowered as he saw her glaring at him sternly, he mouthed an apology, not really wanting her to take his meal away like she had last time. It was in all good fun, sometimes at least, others it was so he would learn to control his more basic instincts while dining out.

"It smells great, thank you Gideon," Judy smiled, though she watched her mate from the corner of her vision.

"Awwww shucks, no need to thank meh, it isn't anythin special or nothin," the other tod rubbed the back of his head, all the while smiling in relief. "Neither of yeh mind bugs I hope?" he added as he started dividing portions for them.

"Nooooo, love the little critters," the predator purred, his eyes glued to the pasta and cheesy bug filled meal.

"I like them," the doe was in the process of shrugging, however she caught herself, impeding herself from adopting her fox's tendency. Considering that she loathed it, having found it to be a lazy, along with it being overly used in animal's responses. She couldn't claim that she didn't do it, but it had become quite more frequent ever since she met a certain predator.

"Alright," the pudgier predator took a slice and put it on his mate's plate, earning him a kiss to the cheek. "Now, yeh two have any preferences?"

"Uhhhh, could I have a middle piece, please?" the doe asked, having to stretched her neck and also sit up, but she still wasn't able to look into the dish from how short she was. The oldest animal noticed how his wife had sat up from her chair, standing on the cushion so she could lean closer to the meal, pointing out a slice from the middle that she'd be able stomach. He teetered on the idea about asking her if she needed a box, or if it'd be easier for her to sit in his lap, yet he bit his tongue firmly. As much fun as it would be to get a reaction out of her, the prospect of being forced to sleep in the guest room was still there.

Instead he grasped her shoulder, convincing her to sit back down as he gave a tender squeeze with his paw. "Here, I have it."

He took the plate that his brother in law's husband, who'd also be his brother in law….he hadn't a clue how it worked. Either which way, he took the plate from Gideon and set it in front of his wife who gave him an indifferent expression. He patted her knee underneath the table, glad that he could feel _her_ with his paw instead of the hard-wearing material of her uniform. The only benefit was that it hugged her body in all the right places, what was hidden beneath was linger-reserved for his eyes. Speaking of which.

Judy's expression softened as she gave a nod of thanks to her male, now just realizing that he was only trying to help, not attempting to humiliate her as she previously thought. It was hard for her to accept help, it always had been since she was a kitten. She preferred to do things herself, wanting animals to see her as an independent rabbit, one who others would look up to and depend on instead of it being the other way around. Her husband wouldn't intentionally humiliate her, unless he was doing it as a joke to rile up her, but he had done it cruelly when they had gotten into arguments, some were even at the station.

Such a time that still lived with her with utter lucidity was when they had gotten in a shouting match a year and a half ago, roughly around January. What sparked it was that her loud and rude neighbors had finally started getting to Nick. She wasn't overly fond of them, or even essentially got along with them that very well, but he had wanted to file a complaint or give them a lawful warning. Things being as they were was that they had been additionally louder than usual. Accompanied by a great deal more of them banging on the foundations of their apartment, while their overall arguing had, on the face of it all, gotten even louder. This had all been something she had become accustomed to, though some nights were harder than others.

Unfortunately her mate wasn't all that tolerant, at least where sleep was concerned. One night he had snapped and gotten out of bed to go head on with their antelope _friends_. It had ended up with him whipping out his badge along with him giving the two prey a piece of his mind. Not only that but he had left them with a warning that if it continued he'd have to charge them on the basis of disturbing the peace; that same morning she had let out a side comment that he had abused his badge. That had ignited their first true nasty quarrel, which had lasted, give or take two hours maybe three. Their troubles hadn't ended there, since they had arrived at the station a half hour late, which had earned them a charming private address from the chief himself.

The rest of the work week had found the two officers refusing to talk or even to look at the other. The mornings in their shared apartment had been awkward to say in the least, bearing in mind as she had to avoid accidently treading on him, as he had reverted to sleeping on the floor. On the fifth day, when he finally wanted to make peace she had brushed him off. This had lead to him placing her things out of reach, hiding them out of her eyesight because of how much shorter she was compared to him. This had carried out for another three days; around the house, at the station, anywhere they were together, where she could find her carrot pen, tranquilizer, her clock or phone and even some more embarrassing and hush-hush things placed out of her reach.

The otherwise seen as calm, patient, and one and only energetic rabbit officer of the ZPD had finally lost her sense of reason. Catching her mate hiding her carrot-pen-recorder, once again for the thirteenth time that day. This time on top a filing cabinet in Officer Rhinowitz's office. She had body slammed him against one of the office cubicle's walls, before screaming in his face about how he was acting like an insufferable cub. The otherwise cool headed, streetwise, charming and kind hearted fox that she knew as her husband, had turned into something that frightened her fare more than what she imagined his savage side to be. It was easier to sum that their second shouting match had last a good half an hour. This only being because she had thrown him hard into one of the walls, regrettably breaking his keen-sensitive nose.

The details to why she had lashed out at him were terrifically vivid. From what she could recollect from her own memories on the matter, along with what he had told her, plus with a handful of some of the officers who had been too afraid to intervene. He had called her something demeaning border lining specieist, in addition he might or might not of had her trapped in a corner, snarling in her face and bearing his fangs.

With her perseverance instincts screaming at her to fight or scream for help from seemingly appearing to be threatened by a predator, plus her anger at being demeaned so rudely, she had been driven over her metaphorical edge. None of it mattered though, she wasn't in the right state of mind when she had attacked him. Only to be brought back to when he was writhing on the office floor whimpering and whining, his face crimson and his emerald eyes wide in betrayal and hurt. This had resulted with her being practically yelled at till she was dead by Chief Bogo. Her ears had been ringing and throbbing for a greater deal of an hour afterwards, in which she had been sent home for the next two days, on forced leave so she could sort things out like a reasonable adult with her partner.

That same night she had to pick her mate up from the hospital, having been taken to one when he had fallen unconscious from the pain. She hadn't ever felt so riddled with grief and guilt in her life till that point. It had only been made worse when they had to go see a doctor to get clarification on how bad his nose really was after the initial break and patch up. When they had gotten back to their apartment she had broken into tears, begging for him to forgive her, and how sorry she was for not just letting them settle things earlier. He had told her that everything was alright between them, that he hadn't helped matters, taking half the blame for it.

It was obvious that in the end everything had worked itself out, and here they were now. But this was a classic example with how rocky their relationship had been at the start. Being from the two species that had an instinctual-mutual fueled distaste for the other, they had gotten along quite well. If them being a reasonably content married couple was anything to go off of that was.

These were some of the few thoughts that swirled about in her mind as she dug into dinner. As they ate in a reasonably easy going silence, her partner snuck a paw underneath the table, settling it on her right upper thigh, rubbing it absentmindedly. She felt a pleasant shiver run up the entirety of her spine, making her fur bristle in excitement. The way that his claws grazed ever so lightly against her, leaving a pleasant tingling in their wake. Even through her flexibly tight jeans she could feel the pointed and lethal keratin that could so easily tear through them. The mannequin in the museum was evidence enough of just how terrifyingly mortally proficient they were. However, she wasn't as bothered about them as she used to be. Whenever she felt the familiar touch of his claws or even his fangs, she felt content, secure and loved.

The bunny's focus shifted as she felt her fox's paw squeeze her leg fondly, his warm pads kneading heartily. Her right eye darted to the corner of her vision, noticing that he was looking at her with a cocked brow.

"Did I miss something?" she breathed, with a visibly pleasant shiver running across her. This was because her fur was absorbing the comforting warmth emanating from her mate's body.

He hummed with a lazy blink of his eyes, his half lidded eyes watching her contently, she nudged him with her side making his charming smile widen. "Welllll, maybe you did, maybe you didn't," he murmured. "You're not missing this beautiful display," he licked his lips, collecting the small amounts of sauce lingering before giving her a gentle kiss on the root of her nose. "You did miss the question our lovely hosts sent your way," he pressed his nose against hers as he pulled away from the kiss, with a devious smirk.

"Dumb Saint," she chuckled before looking at the other two mammals. She let out a quiet breath through her nose, feeling a little light headed. Not in the bad way, but as if the weight on her brain had been lifted. "Sorry, I was…"

"She gets lost in her thoughts a lot, you'll get used to it," Nick interrupted, getting another weak elbowing today.

"Judy was always lost in her own thoughts when we were kittens. That or she was constantly reading through law books, current cases and anything else dealing with criminal justice," Jonathan chuckled, having returned to his usual cheery demeanor.

"Not much has changed then," Nick commented, squeezing the doe's thigh again, this time she sent him a glare that asked, _do you want to die._

"So what was it that you asked?" she asked her brother again, keeping a straight face, even as her husband's paw started to tease the inside of her thigh.

"Wasn't me," the buck shook his head before taking another forkful of the lasagna, pointing with his free thumb at his mate.

"Yeah, I'd just like teh purpose a question for yeh Judy," the younger red-fox stated. Hers returned to his food, but watched the two with interest.

"Of course, what is it Gideon."

"Well I was wonderin, if yeh don't have hard feelins bout what I did when we were younger, do yeh?" he played with his food nervously with his fork, pushing about some bugs thorax about.

"I don't, not anymore," it was in the past and he had apologized for what he had acted.

"Thank you for acceptin meh apology and all that, but I just want yeh teh know that I'm still deeply sorry for clawin yeh," he added hastily, his eyes watching hers nervously.

The doe unknowingly rested a paw on the scars that still showed themselves through the fur of her left cheek. They weren't as noticeable as they had been when she was a kid, but if one studied the fur of her face, they'd find three thin and small patches where there wasn't any fur. She let out a breath and reached for the glass of water that had been set in front of her earlier. Hers having been untouched till this point, while everyone else's was almost half gone. After she had taken a few mouthfuls and put it back on the plate's mat she replied.

"There's no reason to apologize, we were kids then and you….we acted immaturely," she confessed, knowing that she had aggravated him into hurting her, even if what she had said was true.

"Thank yeh for acceptin meh apologies and all. If there's ever a time yeh two need a hand with somethin, or just want a break from the city, our doors open. We owe yeh that much for not just runnin out and tellin his folks…..or mine for that matter," he smiled at the two of them, meaning what he had said.

"Thank you and the same applies for you two as well. Our home's always open for family."

"Well, seems I got ano….." Nick paused suddenly, shoving a paw into his pocket and taking out his phone, quickly messing with its notifying system till it was off, though Judy didn't hear it vibrate or make any noise of that matter. "As I was saying, seems I got myself a brother of my own species," he said with a smirk.

"I got six other siblins, so make it three brothers and four sisters," Gideon chuckled.

"Plus our hundred and thirty brothers and hundred and forty-four sisters," Jonathan added with a grin.

"See Nick, now you have a huge family," Judy said sweetly, patting the paw that was resting on her thigh.

"Great, so many birthdays and important events to look forward to," he shook his head with a grin, but internally he hid a wince. So many graduations from high school and college, weddings and family reunions to attend to with her …..their family. "You're going to be the death of me, Carrots," he groaned dramatically.

"Awwww, poor little Nicky, he has so many siblings and cousins now," she cooed to the vulpine, who rolled his eyes.

"Ohhh, you're so naïve, Carrots, tutututtut" he breathed sympathetically . "You must be so jealous, Stu loves me way more than you. And so quickly, too. Sad."

"Right, so funny," she looked at him with an un-amused expression.

"No, I'm serious. Earlier your Dad was talking about replacing you with me in the will."

"Have fun, over a thousand of our family are in it," the buck deadpanned, picking at what was left of his food.

"Better than nothing, isn't that right," Mr. Wilde murmured to his wife.

"Keeping laughing, your only digging your hole deeper.

"Didn't think I could go any further i….." his eyes closed tightly and he grimaced as he felt her claws digging into the top of his paw.

"Somethin the matter?" the other fox inquired, having noticed the other predators expression.

"Just got a little problem with my paw," he whimpered in reply, as his wife pulled her claws away.

"Need an ice pack or somethin?"

"No, no, I'm fine, really. It comes and goes," the officer said hastily. His mate was smug with getting away with that, and he didn't want her to aggravate her into doing more. He'd get her back at a later time, let her fall into a false sense of security, maybe till she forgot, then he'd get his revenge.

"Right, well I'm gonna go check on the pie," the pudgier mammal announced as he got up, taking his mate's and his plate with him.

Jonathan watched his husband leave the dining room, then looked back to see that his brother in law was nuzzling his sister, making her giggle as she tried to shove him away. A smile twitched at a corner of his bottom lip. It was good to see that his sister had finally met someone who appeared to genuinely care for her. He had kept his opinions and thoughts to himself when she had been dating, only offering a shoulder to cry on, or an ear that was willing to listen when things had evidently fallen apart.

So to say that Nick was a welcomed breath of fresh air would be an understatement. What he saw in front of him was evidence enough of how close the two really were. What truly alleviated the concerns he had about her partner, was how she responded to him nuzzling her. All mates amongst rabbits did it, but if there was resistance and signs of one of them being uncomfortable. It was generally a good sign that the relationship wasn't exactly all that great. His suspicions of the other fox had all been from the rumors that he had heard from his family. But even if any of them were true it didn't matter, if his sister trusted him enough to marry him, then it was good enough for him.

With his smile broadening he asked, "You two sticking around for the festival, and our family reunion?"

"Yep," Nick nodded, turning his attention away from Judy's muzzle. "I normally tag along wherever this nosey doe goes," he grinned. "That and she has the keys to the cruiser, so it's not like I have a choice."

"My sister has you all wrapped around her finger then?"

"Hmmmmm, _her_ would be a better way to put it," Judy let out a groan and dropped her head against the corner of the table with a dull thud. Jonathan just snapped his mouth shut, is cheeks having gone red as he choked on his words.

"Is…..is h-he always…..like this?" Jonathan pointed a paw at the red fox.

"Don't even get me go…." she bit on her tongue and caught the glint in her fox's mischievous eyes. With a sound of disgust she hid her face behind a paw, the fur around her cheeks having darkened a shade as she blushed.

"Go on, Judith, tell me how much you love me," he cooed in an awful sweet tone, even causing her brother to wince and start to make gagging sounds.

"I'm not feeling it right now, come back late after the beep," she sighed as he nudged his nose against corner of her pink one.

"Come on Jude th…." she whipped her head around and glared at him murderously.

"Alright, let's tick that off as another name I can't call you," he made a check mark in the air with a claw, knowing he had been close to striking a nerve. He had gone overboard with calling her cute a few times, he wasn't so eager to find out what that would have just caused.

"Heeeheeee," she chuckled, resting the side of her face against his side, eyes closed with a happy grin. "Good boy," she breathed.

"Such a Dumb Bunny," he shook his head in defeat as he looked at his brother in law who just eyed him warily.

"Dumb Fox, you're the one who married me, you're the only one accountable for your actions," she chuckled happily as she felt his arms encircling her, pulling her closer.

"It's all worth it though," he titled her head up, making it appear that he was about to kiss her, even going so far to stroke her bottom lip. She leaned forward, hoping to meet him halfway only to find an empty space. Her eyes opened up sluggishly, only to find him grinning evilly. "A place to stay, a warm bed, what more could I want," she grabbed a pawful of his cheek fur and mashed his lips against hers, not wanting him to play around.

"Gods, you're such a jerk," she growled a few moments later, only getting a goofy look in return.

"Don't go pinning this on me, Officer Wilde," he purred. "You could have so easily passed up all this," he gestured a hand up and down his flat board torso, "but you wouldn't have been able to stay away from it."

"You're just an over glorified bed warmer," she kissed his nose lovingly. "But you're all mine."

 _Earl the next morning…._

"They're barely noticeable," Nick hummed to his wife as he stroked his thump over the three, faint, claw marks, following each one individually, having traced them many times throughout the years.

"I was eight or nine when I got them," she purred, the area around the scar tissue was sensitive, as he had found out by caressing them.

"You don't remember?" he chuckled, as he watched how she shuffled closer to him in the dark.

"It was twenty years ago, you should know by now that I put the past behind me," she leaned forward unknowingly, pressing her lips against the warm fur-hidden flesh that met at his neck and jaw line, having sought his lips.

"Huh…hey that tickles," he grunted, his voice soft so they didn't wake any of her family.

"Ooooppps!" she giggled, making him squirm her warm breath tickling the sensitive spot. "Didn't know you were ticklish there," she grinned.

"That's because you're evil, and evil bunnies always abuse foxes' weaknesses," the tod tightened the arm he had around her bare waist. This being the first time since they arrived that they had shared a bed in their fur, if they didn't count the last few days where they showered together.

"It's only fair, you've found most of mine and always use them against me," her fluffy tail twitched happily as he started to pay attention to her neck.

"Like here," he nipped where her shoulder met her neckline, getting a responsive squeak from her. He suckled the sore spot before he lavished more nips and kisses, working his way down her body. "And also here," he paid close and careful attention to a sensitive nub, knowing from previous explorations that if his fangs grazed them it would hurt her. A soft moan made its way to his ears, making them flick in excitement.

"Nic….Nick," she gasped as he moved to another before her back arched as she bit down a whimper of pain, "Gentle, please be gentle," he stopped for a moment as he nuzzled her toned stomach, trailing his tongue from her naval up to her the underside of her chin.

"Don't' you trust me," Fluff?"

"No-noth-nothing t…t….to d-do with tr-trust," she groaned.

"Than I thought you liked roughing it up," he pressed his muzzle against hers, his tongue flicking at her incisors, pleading for entry. Judy wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him in closer as she granted both of them what they wanted. His patience was thin and he didn't play it out as he usually did, his tongue soon finding hers, initiating an aggressive tangle of dominance.

"I do, but not there," she whimpered as they pulled away for a brief moment to catch their breaths, all before they smashed back together passionately.

The moist contact between them soon made her become light headed, her mind trying to wrap around what was happening, but found that it couldn't, in its place though it was being guided through bliss. All of it was proving to be too much for her to handle, but she still held onto her husband as though her life depended on it. Just the fresh, untainted flavor of him made her salivate, the way that his paw was cupping her tailhilt, how he let his free paw roam her body without restriction, unafraid to grasp onto a pawful of fur or her yielding yet taught flesh that hid beneath. All of it culminated to create this moment of absolute bliss. Including the way that his stiff flesh pressed against her, every throb emanating from his heartbeat, which she could feel against her own breast.

"Ahhhhh," she let out a silent cry as she felt him shift his hips, his arousal grazing against her lips. "N-n…..n-n-n..aahhhhhhh," she gasped louder this time as he did it again, not being able to stop herself. "No! We ca….."

"I know," he silenced her with a kiss but kept on crushing them together, each time getting a blood-boiling reaction out of her. The way her legs shot to either side of his hips, wrapping themselves around him tightly, locking her paws together above his spine. Her paws' claws roaming his back to occasionally dig in as he struck home just right, her gasps and panting breaths ringing in his ears. How he wanted…how his instincts and his own mind demanded that he went further, to take what it desired. But he just managed to keep himself back, he loved her too much to lose control, he didn't want to hurt her.

"I….I love you," she half purred half whimpered as he fell into a rhythm, making her lips even slicker, preparing themselves for something that wouldn't occur, or so she thought.

"I love yo….you too, Carrots," he nuzzled her affectionately, his tail wagging behind him furiously, as he panted from multiple efforts. They should have stopped in fear of waking one of her siblings, or simply because they were already on thin ice with her parents. Any of these would do and if they didn't, then there was the common decency of letting the sheets stay clean. None of that even occurred to the mates as they let their bodies press against their lovers, both wanting to take it a notch further.

"Ssshhhhh," he hissed as his ears perked up, snapping his head over his shoulder. Judy whimpered as he shifted, the tip of his foxhood having already passed her outer lips to the moist silky warmth. "Ssshh," he breathed, pressing his lips tightly against hers as he shifted his hips again, severing their intimacy, so as not to wake anyone up. He had just heard some of her brothers on the floor above, talking and very much awake.

"Wh…wh-wh-why di….urhhhh," she groaned as she heard how stupid she sounded. "Why did you stop?"

"Too many ears still on patrol," he mumbled, burying his muzzle into her neck. "don't really want anyone listening in or walking in on us," he suckled on a spot that was darkening from a love nip earlier.

"So…."

"…..close," he finished for her, before brushing his nose against hers.

After they reluctantly broke the contact, the vulpine rolled onto his back, bringing his lapin with him, still holding onto her with an arm situate about her middle, claws scratching her tenderly. He rested his head back against the soft welcoming pillows, closing his eyes as he panted, his breath still not having fallen to a steadier tempo. Before long his ears folded themselves back in irritation, but it was something they should have expected, or in the very least thought about. Again they had gotten so close, just so that they were almost caught red handed in the act of mating. It wasn't true that this was the only intimate moment they had been given, the elm was the last. Maybe they should have snuck out there for the night, taken some blankets and pillows. It sounded so tempting that he almost considered mentioning it.

However, before the words could leave his muzzle they were forgotten. All from his wife's' claws delicately running through the fur of his chest, working their way down past his lower abdomen to come teasingly close to the crimson flesh. This carried on for some time, each time she got closer and closer to his member, having aroused him once again. When he thought that she was about to grasp onto him, she pulled away, torturing him in pure anticipation and unbridled yearning. This carried on till he caught her by the wrist, glaring at her as he panted heatedly.

"Either play, or stop," he growled huskily, knowing that his mate couldn't see him anymore than a mole could see the surface above.

"Or what? My big scary fox is going to punish me. I'd like to see if you could catch me first," this time she found what she was aiming for as she pressed her nose to his, looking where she knew his eyes were. Her eyes alight with a challenging glare.

"Don't give me any more ideas," he licked her lips, his once again semi hard-on still doing most of the thinking for him.

"Why not? Got more bark than and no bite with all that boastfulness, Mr. Wilde?"

"I think it's because you're too much of a damn tease, Honey Bunny," he growled, digging his claws into her rump, effectively making her arch her back and let out a stifled moan. "Now whose going to behave?"

"I….I am," she closed her eyes sharply together as he increased the pressure for a few moments longer. "Jerk!" she groaned, borrowing her face into his neck.

"You're the one who's been frisky tonight."

"You didn't exactly help. You could have stopped me, or taken my mind off of it."

"Okay, next time then, we'll just keep on going, show your entire family how loud a fox is when mating a doe like yourself" he snickered, having gotten complaints in the past from neighbors and landlords with his ex-mates.

"Alright, alright, you made your case officer," she blushed, never wanting to imagine what it sounded like for two foxes to be mating. From what she had learnt in health class and from her own curiosity, she had found that it was quite loud. Not wanting to continue down this road of conversation any longer, as the moment had gone, "How you holding up?" she hadn't let up clawing his chest, now though she drew random patterns and shapes in the creamy fur.

"I'm…alright, a little tired," he didn't understand how he felt right now. A little ticked off about not being able to commit, but mainly over-tired. He gave a little shrug of his shoulders before he reached for the edge of the blanket, pulling it passed their shoulders.

"Not been sleeping well?"

"I don't know, maybe. Been getting the beauty rest I usually do, and that's a few hours after you hit the hay," she nuzzled deeper into his neck, letting out a soft sigh through her nose.

"Hmmmmm," she didn't press simply because it didn't sound like he was hiding anything from her.

"Night, Judith, tomorrow we'll be back to being cops, protecting society, diffusing social and domestics problems, maybe messing around in the cruiser when no one's around," she tried to slap his chest but ended up patting one of his arms. He chuckled as he wrapped his other arm beneath her shoulder. "That and you can take me to the festival, how does that sound?" she gave a soft groan. "You sound so excited for tomorrow, I can barely keep myself contained," he dropped the act. "That's how you act at the station," he kissed her between the ears.

"Night, Nicholas," she was finally able to murmur weakly, just before she slumped off to sleep. She couldn't fight it off any longer, with how warm and soft her bed of vulpine muscle and fur was, it was her version of sleeping on a cloud. The last thing she remembered him doing was patting the back of her head as she rapidly fell in unconsciousness. Much later she'd regret how she couldn't foresee all that was about to crop up.

* * *

 **HI: It's me, I made it to Melbourne Australia in one piece, with minimal loss of limb. No, but a part of my soul died inside from having to travel fourteen hours to get here, seriously it is a boring, awful flight. So glad to have gotten more than enough time to get this chapter done. I hope you enjoyed this semi stressful, semi romantic and fun chapter. Doesn't seem like it adds to much, might fill like another filler to many of you, but everyone's inclined to their own perspectives. Why? Because life would be pretty dull and boring without everyone having their owns views on this marvelous adventure called life. I know, pretty deep sentimental stuff from me, now let's get back to the more interesting stuff, right. Right? Oh forget this tough crowd, lol. Anyways, let's get back to it. XD.**

 **So for those of you who remember the five vote, up it goes rule, we are currently at three rules and have been since probably chapter well, who remembers right? Anyways with light of current events with the last section of this chapter XV, this could possibly go up to M if there are two more votes. But I'd argue this story is between T-M. I know that this is not an option but here is my reasoning, many of you may agree, many of you might not. Who remembers being a teenager? I certainly do. Seriously the stuff we used to say, the stuff we used to get away with and do when no one was looking, honestly if people made a movie about what teenagers do when left to their own devices and initiatives, it would be an M. Wait, wouldn't that be Breakfast Club. Hmmmmmm, lol. Well anyways, Unless there are two more reviews or PMs demanding for an upping, we'll keep it at T.**

 **Well folks that's it about it for me here, I'll be catching you guys in a few days if not the regular update time. Hope you had as much fun reading this chapter as I did writing it. Please leave a review, it informs me about how the chapter was, and how well I did. Also it lets me get feedback from you the readers and authors who pick up on stuff that seems out of place, or what I missed when going through for mistakes. So please do this if you see problems or wish to jst comment on the chapter itself, or the story. Seriously you guys are great for helping me keep on top of this story with your PMs and your reviews. This is Reverend Archangel, signing off while giving you the impression of my singing off a stage with a top hat and a cane, now let's see what your imagination does with that. Night folks, hope you enjoyed the latest chapter. XD.**


	16. Burrows Day and More

**_Chapter XVI_**

 ** _Burrows Day and More_**

True to the murmured words that her husband had breathed into her ears the previous night; a certain rabbit officer was all geared up in her uniform, expected to take on whatever situation the day hurled her way. Presently she was walking down one of the numerous walkways of her hometown. The sun only having just peaked on the horizon over an hour ago, starting on its journey across the clear blue skies. Yet, the air surrounding her was already jam-packed with the deafening clamor of an overly animated town. The avenues were teeming with hustling and bustling crowds, all of them heading to some place or another, as there surely many smaller events taking place today. Still, after so many of these she had come to with her family, it amazed her how so many animals from the community came to the festivities. That and not to mention how animals from other nearby towns had just jumped in at the prospect of blowing off work for a day and having some fun.

One again, it was Francis Burrows Day, or what was more commonly referred to as Burrows Day. It was a festival that they would throw once a year, taking place on the Eighth of June. This having been so since 1703, when the town was originally founded by a hare, that went about the name of Francis M. Burrows. What had once been a rural trading post settlement was now one of the largest agricultural sources in the region. To celebrate the founding, the founder and the prospect of being such a valuable settlement they threw a huge celebration. Where everyone was welcome, and seemingly for a day, everyone forgot about if they were prey or predator.

At the current moment she wasn't able to exactly join in the revelry since she was on duty, but that was alright. There would be time when she was relieved by the officers handling the night shift. Plus, it would assist her in avoiding her ex-boyfriend and his family, who, from what she had been told by her sister Angelica, were already here. The buck had already been looking for her, having hoped that she would have had the day off so she could help assist her family with their stands. Fortunately for her, that just wasn't how things worked because of her career. With any luck she could go the entire day without _accidently_ bumping into the buck, but already seeing with how her luck functioned, he'd find her eventually, hopefully later rather than sooner.

The doe stepped out into the street, instinctively looking both ways before crossing the road. This was because she wanted to avoid getting caught up in a large herd of animals who were primarily dominating the sidewalks today, in addition to that she had to head this way. Given that her acting superior, a Captain who happened to be a wolf, had ordered her to solo maintain the town center, where the main rides and events would be held. Which didn't warrant any complaint from her. Bearing in mind that her family was by Buckleburrow Avenue, along with her ex, that was unless he had sought out to find her.

Annoyingly though, her mate couldn't relieve her of any of this surplus stress, as they had been assigned poles apart areas to walk the beat. Their acting superior had soon been notified that they were husband and wife, and the last thing he wanted to come to pass was them to have any, _distractions_ , since he ran an even tighter crew then their one ton chief. Moreover they were heavily low on units, so they had to all work individually today, or till the captains request for support was made. With any luck, Zootopia or the other surrounding towns would send the additional officers that they so desperately needed, since this event lasted for two and half days. The reason to why it lasted this long was beyond her, at this current moment in time anyhow, her mind rapt on where she was going, rather than the history of her home.

As she was navigating her way through the narrow corridors between the buildings, she felt her phone vibrate, making her groan as she rolled her eyes. Honestly, she had posted up on furbook, foxxit and her tweeter accounts that she'd be back on duty today and tomorrow, it was unspoken knowledge amongst her friends that this meant to leave her alone. The only exception was her family and her mate, but that was only if it was an emergency, or that they could send her one message and she'd try to get some time to reply it. By the process of elimination, it should have been more than to be expected that it was her fox. Who should've known that they didn't have any additional time for his usual flirty chatter, or any other sort of cellular chitchat today.

Especially if her memory served her correctly, he was the officer who was sent to oversee Baldwin Avenue, meaning he had picked the shortest straw of the day. The reason being was that it was considered to be one of the dodgier areas of town. Letting out a huff of frustration she pulled out her phone, since she felt it vibrate against her thigh again. She received a number of dirty looks from animals that passed her by, which she honestly deserved. Cops were meant to be on the lookout, keeping innocent animals safe, upholding the law and order that society required to keep it functional, being on her phone was a sign of distraction, it was also a breach in her duties. With an irritated scowl, she scrolled through the numerous group conversations, only to discover that it wasn't from her husband at all. Her eyes momentarily widened in surprise, just to form a deep furrowed scowl, recognizing who it was.

 _ **Hey Judy, hope we bump into one another sometime today, because I'd like to catch up. I get it if you don't, but please meet me so you can hear me out face to face. I know you're currently on duty right now, so I'm trying to make this as brief as possible. I just….could we try to do it when your off duty? I don't want to be a nuisance, but if you could get back to me, I'd appreciate it. JS.**_ Was what she read from the first message to the new conversation that he had started. Not wanting to deal with her ex, much less think about what he wanted to discuss with her, she almost shoved her phone back into her pocket. What stopped her was her curiosity to what the second notification had been about.

Searching through her different socially connected accounts she found that it was a message from Rebecca, a sister from the thirteenth litter. It read as such. _**Hey sis, just got away from being badgered by your ex. Honestly I don't know where you are, and he expects that I do. Any-who, hope everything's going alright. If he starts to get on your nerves, just send a text to us, I'm sure I can get Tristen or Ford to take care of him. XD. Alright that sounded bad, seeing as you're a cop and all that now, lol…I gotta head back to the chili before mom flips out again. Catch you later sis, love you xxxx.**_ Judy's expression softened, thankful that her family was helping keep her ex away. As she was about to put her phone away, it vibrated again. Rolling her eyes in exasperation she found it was from her same sister.

 _ **Right, almost forgot. Nick came over a few minutes ago. I guess he was tipped off or something, because he's been asking where your ex is, said he wanted to have a 'chat' with him. Gotta go, moms giving me her famous death glare.**_

The doe slumped against the flat blue painted timbered wall of the house behind her, angling her muzzle in the direction of the sky as she took a deep, collective breath, then letting it out in a wavering exhale. This continued for a few minutes, her ears laying back dejectedly as she now had even more stacked on her shoulders. That along with her memories of her previous boyfriend came back to her.

She scowled as she thought about how things had ended, her paw forming a white knuckled fist, the joints crackling. It wasn't all that often when she had the overwhelming desire to vent her frustration with violence; it had never been this tantalizingly fierce either. Not wanting to cause any collateral damage to what was around her; she concentrated on her breathing, desperately doing her best to think of something other than her prior relationship. It wasn't of any use as the harder she tried to distract herself with other thoughts, they'd return to _him_.

It was because he had been such a great buck, enough so that she thought that he was the one she would actually settle down with, to marry, start a family with. After she had graduated college, she had filled out the forms and sent the required information that the police recruiters needed. When she informed him that she had been accepted, their bond had quite figuratively speaking, gone up in flames. Never had she witnessed any of the emotions he displayed that evening so many years ago. There was so much anger and hurt, all of it being aimed towards her, declaring everything she had strived for since she was so young, was just idiotic and farfetched dreams.

She couldn't deny that they were outlandish, concerning a rabbit at least, considering how all the other officers that went for police training consisted of the larger prey and predators. That was the case till her partner and her had shown up, quite literally upturning the entire idea that small mammals couldn't be in the police force.

Yet to listen to these spitefully thrown truths by someone she thought she could trust, who she had believed loved her, who was supposed to support her decisions even if they were horrible ones. It had felt as though her heart had been torn out of her chest, then stomped on. Especially when he had all but screamed it in her face. The heartbreak and sorrow hadn't lasted long that night at least; it had instead fueled her to lash out at him with the same uncontrollable anger.

The officer could remember that she had backed him up into a corner of her room, seeing as they were living with her folks, paying rent as they both attended college. What he had dished out at her, she had thrown right back, telling him how awful he was, how he had no right to crush her dreams and what she strived for, how he even had the nerve to look her in the eye and say that he loved her after he had forced her into a corner. At the closing stages of their arguing, or her ranting and raving, she had kicked him out of her family's home. Effectively showing him that they were through, leaving him with a slammed door to the face when he had tried to apologize, tears in his eyes as well.

The idea that it had been her doing this behind his back, not talking to see how he felt about it, had crossed her mind countless times after their fight. This was one of the leading reasons why she didn't want to see him, she was afraid of learning that she had overreacted like he had. That, and she knew that he was inflexibly persistent from all the years they had known each other, he'd try to get her back if he couldn't move on.

Judy opened her amethyst eyes, and the first thing that she saw, was the clear blue sky, at least what wasn't hidden behind the buildings that shot up over her head. Seeing the calm and beautifully pure display made her mind catch up to the present, reassuring her that was all in the past. She was married to a caring and supportive mate, who wouldn't do anything to intentionally hurt her. If he did, he had shown that he always tried his best to make sincere amends. When he did lose his temper, he made it known that he only snapped when he was overly wound up about something, or she had actually aggravated him, which rarely took place.

Nick hadn't ever made her undergo such feelings to suggest that she was small and insignificant; in fact it was quite on the contrary. He constantly made her sense that she was appreciated, respected and always showed her how truly important she was; from her hard work on the force, to friends and family, all the way to what she meant to him. With her thoughts taking up her more or less positive and cheery characteristics she pushed off against the face of the dwelling, she returned to going back on her way to the town square.

As she placed her right hind-paw on the otherwise loose soil of the center of Bunnyburrow, she noticed that scattered all around were a number of news crews. All of which were setting up about their vans. Her legs recommend for her to head in another direction, but what she actually did was swallow her anxiety down, accepting that whatever came, she'd have to simply put up with. This didn't mean though, that she rushed right on over to the unusually nosey animals, offering them a big ol'cheerful welcome. No, not even in the slightest. Instead the officer kept herself a fare distance away from them. Instead she retained her attention on the animals that had shown up to enjoy the next couple of days. Speaking of which, a numerous amount of animals approached her, asking for directions to events, or simply because they had gotten themselves lost. Still others asked if they could actually take a picture with her as they had recognized who she was, a couple of them asked where her partner was so they could get him in as well. Some gave her a polite wave or curt nod of the head as they walked on by her. A few just gave her an odd glance over, or the accustomed indifferent glare. Either because they weren't overly fond of having officers present, or simply because they still found the idea of there being a rabbit officer to be abnormal.

It was something she had become accustomed to over the years, aware that it was a great deal better than what her mate would get on the day to day basis. How he was able to put up with these glares and sneers from animals seeing him in a uniform, including his own kind was beyond her. But what actually baffled her were the things he would often have muttered behind his back, seldomly having it said to his face, and how he would just take it without shooting it back. Occasionally he'd pull out his notebook and pen, then proceeded to give the animal's that insulted him a warning or fine. Every time that she'd seen this, he wore an emotionless expression, never had she seen him being smug about it. Sure she had similar treatment by her own kind along with other animals in her community that was only because of the path she had chosen. However, to be ridiculed, insulted, to be spoken about so lowly, she couldn't imagine living through that.

Then again he had grown up with this kind of treatment all of his life, he probably saw it as she did when animals asked if they could take a picture with either of them, just another obstacle to hurdle themselves over so they could get home after the clocked out. It didn't stop her from doing her best to sway animals to think differently. That speech she had given for his graduation class had been more than to be the animal to badge him into the ZPD. It had been a message to the city to get them to understand that for things to change, so they could fix all the damage that they had all been responsible for, they'd have recognize that change started with them. That their views on everyone around them because of how they appeared on the outside, was the wrong way to go about it.

It had helped a little, a glue to keep the overall appearance from crumbling apart, like it had with Dawn. An animal she once thought she could have called a friend, had called a friend. Someone she had originally believed shared the same beliefs and visions she had. From what had transpired when she was in charge, she'd never let things spiral so far to the right or the left again. What she strived to do every day now, was to try and repair the damage that she had created, leading by example that predators and prey had nothing to fear from the other, that they could coexist and work together to make a better world. She refused to be responsible bringing Zootopia down to its knees again.

This was yet again another place where her husband and her batted heads, or used to. He pressed for change like she did, but his approach was to let everyone figure it out themselves, let them tear each other apart so they could recognize how truly awful they were. This he held to both predators and prey, but the message had been clear enough, he was referring to prey being the bad guys when she had mentioned it. She couldn't in her opinion hold this against him, predators were a large minority in Zootopia, in most metropolises across the globe, foxes being a small sliver within that marginalized whole. But she persistently dug her hind-paws in when it came to how animals had the potential to change without violence, without hurting one another. He'd rebuttal it with how she hadn't come to that realization till she had pushed him away because of how she had accepted the worlds views on his kind, the fox repellent being one sponge too many. In many cases he was correct, but she argued that it had made them stronger animals, strengthened their partnership and friendship, later their relationship when they had become mates and eventually husband and wife.

Over the last few years though she had been able to chip away his staunch resolve on matters such as these. It had been as strenuous and arduous as pulling a stuck tractor out of a muddy fissure in a field, but the reward far outweighed the strife. Many would argue that it would have been best not to challenge the true characterized embodiment of trickster, but she had never been the doe to care what other animals thought of her decisions, chiefly when she was in the right. If she was able to restore who her husband was prior to what society had gone and done with him, then she'd gladly sacrifice the many needed hours of debating to do so, that and much more if needed. If the end result was his handsome, emerald eyes, twinkling in that unique way they did when he was content with who he was, then it was well worth it.

So were the thoughts that flittered away at the back of the doe's mind, all the while she kept her amethyst eyes trained on the activity around her. Often times she was being approached by animals that were simply lost, generally it was tourists who had come just for this specific event. Then there was the seldom intervention to break up the few minor disputes that broke out. The latest one was between a goat and a cheetah who were arguing about something or the other about how they couldn't both have fried goods in the same area. With how chaotic things were she half expected it to be nearing the evening where the main events would be taking place, but she was disappointed to learn that it was only nearing noon.

On the brighter side of things, the Captain had notified the officers under his command that they could go on an hour to two hour break, as some of the nearby towns, including Zootopia had sent an additional hundred and ninety officers. It was welcomed news to the already spread thin law enforcers, considering that there was only forty-seven of them managing this event. Her partner and her made up two of those numbers, not that it helped in the slightest, even with them there it was still chaotic since they were spread so thin. Not that it was her place but she'd definitely be bringing this up with her chief when they got back. With the event being on the scale it was, they needed to be prepared for it before paw, not rushing things together at the last minute, she dreaded to think about how much had gotten passed them already.

This would have to be something she'd have to reflect on at another time. It was taking all her mental-capacity as well as her tolerance to not pull her ears over her eyes, so she could hide away from the world. She felt like she was losing her mind out here. Which in itself surprised her because she rarely lost her resolve while in the field, but with how much had been handed to her this week, along with everything else that had sneaked up on her, it was becoming too much for her.

Half an hour later the rabbit officer had to reprimand a group of teenagers, who had the bright inclination to try parking their vehicles in the square. Except it was off limits to all and any motor vehicles, unless the animal had all the correct permits and authorization forms filled which had to be requested by the town, similar to what the media crews had done. Once that was done, the animal would receive a written confirmation along with an invoice, the fees would follow according to the town's jurisdiction. Having just attempted to explain that to a bunch of kids had given her a headache, especially when they kept trying to test their boundaries. How she wanted to drag out the ring leader, a teenage hare, give him a good treatment of her taser, then drag him off to a jail cell, so he could sulk it out for a night or two. How she hated animals repetitively rebuked everything with a _why_ question.

In the end they had been convinced to leave, which had taken a call in to get some assistance from three other officers, they had finally left. After which she pulled her ears over her eyes letting out a quiet scream of frustration. Not soon after a pair of familiar arms wrapped themselves around her middle, her vested back being pulled firmly to a vested chest.

"Hmmmmm, what's a place like you doing in a doe like this?" Nick breathed against the back of her left ear, then gave it a playful nibble.

"We're on duty," she mumbled, letting go of her ears, but did nothing to pull away from him, instead she leaned into him, placing her paws on his arms, gazing up to the underside of his creamy furred neck which follow the groove to his jaw.

"Ohhhh is that so, Carrots?" stared down at her, nuzzling his nose against hers affectionately, drawing grins from the two of them.

"What are you getting at, Slick?" she ran her claws over the blue sleeves of his uniform shirt.

"I'm not getting at anything, officer. I'm just an innocent fox holding his Honey Bunny," he tightened his arms around her, making her giggle, the first time she had laughed today.

"Niiiiiicckkk!" she burred.

"Alright, I'll spill everything," he said looking away dramatically, closing his eyes for affect. "The cavalries finally found their way out of the donut shop. Also, the Captain's letting us loose for a bit," he sighed before resting his muzzle on top of her head. That was after he gave it a sloppy kiss with his tongue, making the fur stand up haphazardly.

"Ewwwwwww!" she whinged, resembling a kit. "That's gross, ewwwwwww!" she squirmed in his arms making him tighten his arms around her once again.

"And you love it!" he growled, lifting her a few centimeters from the ground, swinging her about a little, making her shriek in laughter.

"Put me down, put me down!" she begged as she felt butterflies in her stomach," NICK!" she shrieked as he spun in tight circles on his pads. This continued for a few more circuits, in which she closed her eyes tightly, bawling her small fists in the fabric of his sleeves.

When the vulpine at last let up, allowing her back-paws to settle back on the firm ground again, she whirled about in his hold, glaring up at him. With what she knew he called a cudroable scowl, mixing cute and adorable together, the two most hated demeaning words for rabbits. Her mate knew quite well that she absolutely hated it when he used these words to describe her, but she absolutely loathed him spinning her around like this.

"I HATE THAT!" she had to stand on the tips of her hindmost-paws, but it was enough so she could pound on his right shoulder halfheartedly. "YOU…STUPID….. IDIOTIC….DUMB….SCOUNDREL…LYING…TWOFACED….JERK…YOU!"

Somehow she was able to fall in love with that goofy smile that he was aiming at her. Not just that, but all his other wonderful traits, such as his suaveness, faithfulness, flirtatious, charismatic in addition to his cool-headedness. He was still far from perfect, but she wasn't any better either. Honestly, he was perfect enough for her, that was all that really mattered.

The reynard chuckled softly as he circled his arms around her waist, smiling down at her as he inquired, "Tell me how you can swing from vines like a monkey, but can't handle me spinning you around?"

"When you can explain to me why you're scared of loud noises," she poked his chest with an accusatory claw, her lips wavering as she tried not to giggle. "Every time a car backfires you try diving underneath the furniture."

"I've never liked loud noises, besides it's nice underneath the bed," his chuckling died away, sea green eyes narrowing as he stared at something or someone behind her. "Looks like we have an audience," he murmured, causing her to take a peek over her shoulder, seeing the news crews. A few of them having gotten their cameras out to catch what was going on between them. A pawful of them took photos with their cell phones, the flashes from over a dozen meters away were making Nick's eyes twitch bad-temperedly.

"Can we go?" her voice having become meek as she nestled her forehead against his chest. She didn't mind being on duty and being hounded by the media, it was expected when she was the only rabbit to be on the police force. However it was a completely different matter when it concerned her life when she was out of uniform.

"Yeah," his hold on her tightened subconsciously, resting a paw against the back of her head protectively. "The blood suckers can wait," he stepped to her side, bringing an arm up to her shoulder so he could lead them somewhere else. For now they were leaving behind their troubles, both of them knowing that they'd have to face the music sooner or later.

The rabbit went along with her partner, not a care in the world where he was guiding them, as long as it was with him along with being as far away from the square as possible. With a bit of luck, even further from her ex. Leaving these thoughts behind as well, she pressed herself more into his side, her durable-strap-boot laced-rear-paw coverings having fallen in step with her mate's, kicking up small plumes of dust. She let out a heavy sigh, breathing in the male's scent effortlessly from how close they were. The tod must have felt the same as he gave her temple an innocent smooch.

A goat couple and their billies scurried past them, the rabbit saw out of the corner of his eye that a nearly unnoticeable smile had crossed her predator's muzzle. It was common knowledge to anyone who knew her husband, that he loved children, species a nonexistent barrier when it came to them. Parents though, were naturally protective of their young, and Nick had been snapped at not to go near or to touch, but the children were normally were the ones to go to him. He just had a unique bond with kids, that was the closest thing she could place it at. Especially when he had helped a wolf father with their cub, everything he usually did to soothe his child hadn't worked and after some persuasion the father had let her partner have a go at it. Once he had her in his arms, she had calmed right down. Trying to hand the child back over to the parent had been difficult because she had fussed and threatened to start wailing. It had been resorted when the father and the fox officer had gotten her to fall asleep.

"So a little friend of mine told me that someone's come all this way just to propose to you," he nonchalantly stated, making her blink her eyes open as she found herself on the edge of falling into unconsciousness herself.

"Urrrrhhhhhhh, Rey!" she growled, noticing that they had halted in their tracks in a rather large, open street.

"Yeah, one of my many sister in laws," he grumbled, having found it harder to keep a name to a face with his extended family, greatly extended. "I'm nocturnal, Honey, but I enjoy being left in the dark as any bunny does, so fill me in here or….." he trailed off, obviously wanting her to fill him in.

"I-I…Nick," she buried her face further into his side, not wishing to see his expression. "I was goi-going to tell you, honestly," she felt him give her a warm squeeze, not feeling any irritation radiate from him. She closed her muzzle, then started to nuzzle into his side, not minding that his vest was getting in the way.

"Awwww, come on…..Carrots," he wished he had his phone out so he could snap a picture, it wasn't that often that he caught her behaving so adorable in public.

"I've been a wreck, haven't I?" unable to get his phone he decided to do the next best thing, which was to press his lips to the root of her muzzle, giving her a gentle kiss.

"You've had a lot thrown at you," his eyes having glazed over. Having breathed in her scent a bit too heavily, having caused a pleasant shudder to travel up the entirety of his spine, starting from the back of his head, only to end at the dark furry tip of his tail, his fur bristling a little. His mind cleared itself, as he remembered where their previous conversation had left off.

"About your ex, from everything your families told me….you loved him," she opened her muzzle to say something, but he shushed her by giving her another reassuring squeeze. "I got nothing to worry about, more concerned for this guy if he hurts you again," he growled darkly, not liking the idea that prior to when they had met, this buck had screamed in her face such horrid things.

The vulpine bent his knees so he was more or less eye level with her. "I made a promise to be by your side, during the good and the bad, " a smirk twitched at the corners of his muzzle as he added, "Death do we part is a little overrated, I'm with you for the entire marathon, so bring me up to speed here," his emeralds having focused on her amethysts longingly.

The fox blinked leisurely, not snapping them open as his gaze got lost in her eyes, while she did the same. Unlike him, she let hers roam, darting around his eyes, studying the red fur that was just slightly darker on his eyelids and following his cheekbones. But she'd always return to become fixated by his eyes, the nexus of their relationship. Both of their gems, would communicate the emotions they were too afraid to voice, or simply couldn't, as words were still so void in justifying them. How she could spend an entire afternoon staring into them, which she had, quite a pawful too. Often than not, getting lost in the stories they'd share with her, as they had seen so much. Much could be said for how he would often hold her head still, all so he could stare into her own gems.

It was often the case during the long hours of the nights when they were restless, sleep having forgotten about them. To which they would simply lay facing one another, where she'd be practically blind, guessing where his face was hidden by using the tip of his nose as a guide. Habitually she'd feel his thumb brushing the fur of her cheeks with a loving touch, especially after they had mated, the soft petting and groping of their partner having become a habit between them in the afterglows.

The doe had seen plenty of times where they'd be full of a swirling mixture of frustration, sorrow and tension, which would be seen when they were arguing or when they were rubbing the other the wrong way. Underneath it all she could catch the glimpses of his tender, tepid fire, showing her that no matter how loud they yelled at each other, whatever they or life threw at them, that they'd always be there for the other. Even now, as his eyes studied her with clear confusion, she see the tenderness in them. Still, this did little to sway her anxiety and utter irritation of being placed in a situation which was almost comical and movie like.

"I don't know what to do. He's told me he wants to talk….but my families told me-he's also told me…..he wants more than that," she mumbled.

"He's got you in a corner then, because last time I checked I was legally bound to you," he tried to lighten the mood.

"I don't want to hurt him…we've both done enough of that," she rubbed her face with a paw. "If he really is trying to get us back together, to propose…I don't know what to….I know what to say, but how can I do that without hurting him. I just want him to leave me alone!" she cried, pulling on her ears now. "Why can't animals just leave me alone?! Why can't they everyone just leave us alone?!" the doe lashed out at a decently sized stone making it skip a good distance away. Though this caused her to hop on her other hind-paw as she held the other one, trying to rub the pain out of her toes.

"Judith," her fox sighed as he rolled his eyes from watching her. Not saying another word he headed over to an eateries outside sitting area, pulling out a pair of chairs for them. After sitting down, he waved a paw at the other chair, waiting patiently as she walked stiffly over to the offered seat across from him. When she sat down, he picked her paws up, resting them on his lap, proceeding to work on the one she had harmed in her small fit .

"Look, I can't make this decision for you, he's your ex," he rubbed her sore appendage tenderly, pressing his thumbs into the joints till they popped, making her bite her lip as he worked the pain out.

"If it was me, I'd meet him face to face, tell him that this gorgeous little display has already come and gone," he chuckled dryly from this, going back to kneading the underside of the same hind-paw. "If he can't come to grips that this precious doe is with this handsome devil, then that's his problem," he switched his attention to her other foot, receiving a few odd stares from mammals passing them by, that and the patrons who sat down at the establishment's tables.

"If only it was that easy," she grumbled, looking away from him.

"They are, if you want them to be. Sometimes you come in last, Fluff," he partially quoted one of Gazelle's lyrics, knowing full well how much of a fan she was to the widely known and loved pop-star.

"Even when you try your best to be the better animal, sometimes you just got to be blunt, if it hurts them, then they should have gotten the hint," he held both her paws by the tips of her toes, wiggling them side to side as he thought about what else he could say. "I'm honestly drawing up blanks now, I don't know what else I can tell you."

"Was it ever this easy with any of your ex-mates?"

"Uhhhh," his eyes fell to the soft fur of her rear-paws, which he still tenderly held, "If you want the truth…..none of them were," his ears followed suit, soon lowering. "I….I grieved for a while, but I eventually felt better. But none of them tried getting back together with me. I got a feeling that you're the right one for me….who knows, you may grow tired of me," he ragged, squeezing her back-paws till she tried to pull them out of his grasp, only to learn that he wasn't planning on letting go just yet.

"Good luck, now that I got you, I'm not letting you run off again," she giggled, but meant every word.

"Caught in a trap once again," he sighed wistfully. "Now you going to tell me what you want me to do, or you going to keep beating the poor bush to death?" he squeezed his furry captives, causing her right leg to jerk as she tried to pull away again.

"Please just be there, I'll handle it alright?" her partner shook his head in agreement, albeit hesitantly. "I know you want to do more, but I got this one. If you could be there with me that will be more than enough for me," she leaned forward, stroking the side of his muzzle with a paw, which he pressed himself into.

"Fine," he tried to grumble, finding it hard from how his doe was touching him.

"No more searching him out, you'll only make things worse," she had started to scratch the underside of his head with her claws, making him close his eyes, purring happily.

"Can you be a good boy and behave for me, hmmmmm, can you?" she cooed, getting his tail to wag behind him happily, which she took as his unconditional compliance.

A few minutes of this went by, earning them even more stares and side comments, but by this point they had grown used to them. Honestly they had stopped caring what everyone else thought of their relationship. If other animals could be affectionate to their mates in public, then they were allowed to as well. However, they had discussed about acting like friends and partners again, at least till the media had calmed down and the worse had really come and gone. It depended what the reception back home would be like, if it was truly as ugly as they were fearing it to be, then they'd save it for home, in addition to wherever they were sure they weren't being spied on.

The rabbit's husband brought her back from these thoughts when he lifted his muzzle up from where it was resting in her lap. The chin scratches had been enough to make his head droop, almost enough to make him doze off.

He let out a toothy yawn, then in a sleepy voice, "Now that we got that sorted out, I'm hungry," he sat back up, taking one of her paws, pulling her back up to her own two legs.

"Thinking with your stomach again?"

"Of course, I get my best ideas while eating, did you're little rabbit brain forget how I switched the night howlers with a blue berry? Classic example of me coming up with amazing ideas while eating," he waved his paws about as he walked off in another direction, making her question if he even knew where he was heading.

"We were lucky, she could have switched them back?" she interjected, after having caught up to him, her left leg had fallen asleep back there.

"Who knows what could have happened."

"I think you would torn me to shreds," she grimaced from how dark that had sounded, knowing well enough that even today he was afraid of losing control over himself.

"Not necessarily, Carrots."

"What do you mean?"

"No one knows all that much about our favorite little _friends_ ," he air quoted, his wedding band reflecting the light a couple of times. "Except what the eggheads let the general public in on," he whispered loudly, as if it was a huge secret, he became serious again as he added. "They don't even know if they can make you savage."

"Mind on filling me in…..I haven't been keeping up with it all that much," she tugged on an ear, similar to how he scratched the back of his head.

"I'm surprised, Mrs. Wilde, reputation has it you're very knowledgeable about such matters, for shame, for shame" he scolded, receiving a weak shove and groan from her. "Since I'm the generous fox I am, I'll tell you. You see, little, naïve, cud…" her taking out her taser and inspecting it for a fresh battery made the word die on his tongue, having thought twice about it. "….curious, bunny that I love so much. It just reverts animals back to their more basic and natural instincts," she hummed, letting him know that she was listening and to go on.

"That's all that I've managed to find," having kept an eye out on any new updates about the plants unique properties. "Other than that, doctors and scientists are still screwing about with it, you know so they can make it dance about and do tricks for them," he shook his head. Honestly what could go wrong with that, had they never seen World War Z or I am Legend, or any classic zombie disease, or the actual Rabies Outbreak of 63 which had killed millions in a two month period. The tod derailed this train of thought, or he'd got sidetracked any further.

"Mmmmhmmm," she nodded, with a minute grin, honestly how he was able to laugh and joke about things as much as he did was baffling.

"Well since our boys and girls in white discovered an apparently effective cure with no known or cared about side effects, animals have volunteered to be guinea pigs…" Judy punched him in the arm for that, it was a very derogative thing to say about that species of rodent,"….fine, fine. Lab ra…." he sighed as he spotted another bruise to his upper arm. "Quite done abusing your husband, Whiskers?

"You done acting stupid?" she asked jokingly, nudging him with an elbow before jumping away from him, not wanting te be caught in his hold just yet.

"Where would the fun be in that?" he watched her with an amused expression as she danced around him effortlessly, more than likely because she was so light, that and she had always been quick on her paws. Seeing as all of his previous attempts to try and get an arm around her had failed, he did his usual _oh well_ shrug before he went back to their previous topic.

"There were a few, horribly minor accidents, all of which are speculation at best. All along with the reassurances our geniuses had to give to the city council and mayor," he explained as he chuckled, honestly he was surprised that they hadn't had some horrible mutant outbreak of the mysterious plant. He continued to explain, seeing as that his wife was seemingly intrigued.

"So story goes, that they put this one tested tigress's husband in with her. He was all suited up, security everywhere and ready to pull him out. But here's the kicker, she didn't do anything, unless her rubbing up against him counts as being life threatening. After many more tests similar to this, they were able to figure out that she knew that he was her mate. They did this with close friends and family, all of which had the same end result. All except when a badger's wife attacked him because he had another female's scent on him." Judy chuckled, but stopped as she saw that her partner was being serious.

"Who knows, Carrots, I may have just nuzzled you to death."

"If…wait you said that they were mates, we were…..friends then."

"Well….." he scratched the back of his head, a small but evident blush staining the sides of his muzzle. "I mean, yeah we were, foxes nuzzle their friends, didn't you know ….."

"No, they don't. You told me that and I've looked more into it. You guys only nuzzle family and mates?"

"You're misquoting me o…."

"No!" she wiggled a finger at him, not buying his lies. "You liked me back then, like you like liked me didn't you?"

"I mean, what wasn't there to like?" he chuckled nervously, unsuccessfully hiding his blushing muzzle. "I mean with your figure and that uniform, what wasn't there to like," he rambled on with a grin. "That and I thought you were rather attractive to begin with," he saw that her expression fell a little. Something she had confided in him, was that she hadn't ever appreciated being complimented on her looks alone. Which was understandable, as he had gone through the same thing, but they weren't compliments, more along the lines of verbal abuse.

"It wasn't just your knockout looks, ohhh no!" he shook his head with a wide smile, giving up on trying to hide his blush."You were the first animal….the first doe who had ever hustled me, and hustled me so well that I couldn't back out. Gotta say, I was impressed," he bumped the side of her rear with his own, making her bump back with a small smile.

"But what I was really drawn to Judy, was your wit, your humor, how intelligent you were, everything really," she just noticed that his arm had encircled her, pressing her against his side once again. "That's what drew me to you at first, later those were the qualities that made me fall for you ohhh so hard," he gave the side of her muzzle a nip, then added with a grin. "Bet your ex never made you feel this special?"

The rabbit shook her head with a soft purr, receiving another lick to the top of the head. Which was something she would more often than not play off as being disgusting, but she actually enjoyed it. This was simply because it was unique to him, something that his kind would do to display affection amongst their loved ones. Also she had grown up on a farm, a good number of the time her siblings and her would come back after a long day covered head to toe in grass stains, dust, oil spill, grease, flour, hay, twigs, leafs, but mainly mud. A simple lick was nothing compared to how actually gross she'd feel after a long days hard work when she was a kit.

"Good, means I'm up another point to your ex," he breathed humorously, then added underneath his breath so only she could hear, "Also, thanks for dragging me along with you," she hummed a reply, resting her eyes for a few heartbeats, glad that they were able to get at least these few moments of peace together.

 _Around twenty-three hundred….._

It had been an hour since the law enforcers that had made up the early morning and day squads had been relieved. The put together graveyard shift having taken their place, all of them had received genuine thanks and pats on the backs for volunteering for what would probably be the more difficult of the shifts. This was due to most of the nocturnal animals coming out for what was essentially their day, while the diurnal animals would be up and about for a few hours more. A good deal would have probably had a drink too many and would be stumbling home or causing an uproar. The rabbit officer was relieved that she wouldn't have to deal with that tonight, she had done enough shit detail as many of her associates nicknamed the later or earlier hour shifts.

For the hour that she had been off duty, Judy had spent it with her family, who were currently occupying one of the hills that had been left alone till they arrived. From here they could easily overlook the town, which was only a kilometer or two away. Her parents were planning on staying here for another hour or two, before they and the rest of her siblings made their move to head on home. She'd more than likely join them, but that was if a certain fox showed up.

The last she had seen of her husband was at the Captain's assembly, where they had all for the most part been assigned somewhere else to patrol. From what she had overheard at the conveying, he had been sent to Bunnyip Boulevard, which was directly north of the square. She had been sent to Haresfield, which was a good kilometer or two outside of Bunnyburrow to the west, where a good deal of the farming families got together and held their own events. Last year the inhabitants had thrown a huge bonfire, using what they couldn't salvage from the crops that had dried up or died, this year they had just gathered together to grill up the surplus of their stores.

The doe wasn't on the whole all that worried about her partner, since he had sent her a text half an hour ago, telling her that something had come up that demanded his attention. They may have been dismissed from duty, but if something such as a scuffle, a robbery, or even a simple jay walking occurred in their field of vision, they were still expected to intervene. She'd learn what had kept him up when he got back, that was if she didn't go searching for him. It might be wiser if she did so, it wouldn't be unheard of for a fox such as himself to disappear, only to show up hours later sporting bruises and cuts from a beating. Gideon had a few cousins that had happened to, but he was much bigger than a good deal of foxes, making most rabbits think twice when confronting him. Her mate was a little shorter compared to some of his kind, but it was enough to make him a possible target on a night such as this.

Shaking this off as simple anxiety the doe reassured herself, knowing that her fox knew to walk in the light and stay near crowds while at night. He had grown up on the streets of Zootopia where foxes would show up much worse than beaten, a good deal of them had to be sent to the ER after encountering animals full of specieist hate and chauvinism. Unfortunately he had been such a case, on various occasions. From the little he had accounted to her, he was lucky that these animals either got the chills, a police cruiser happened to be going by, or a group of other animals happened to come by and witness what was going on. Never had he been hospitalized from these random violent acts, but the following weeks had always been difficult. Since he had become an officer himself, this had stopped, now he just received cold glares from animals who wished ill on him.

With so many law enforcers making their rounds tonight, she was reassured that him being late wasn't due to him being mugged. He was probably giving a fellow officer a hand, or he had quite possibly ran into someone from their station. Which would entail that they had been chatting the other's ears off. Whatever it was, she was sure that he'd be getting back to her within the hour, the surface town was in no ways small, but at least they weren't sent down to monitor The Underground. Which had to have its own separate branches of security and law enforcers, simply due to the exact scale it was on. If they thought things were bad up here, she could only imagine how they were handling the next couple of days down there.

When she was younger she had imagined being an officer and cleaning up The Undergrounds notoriously crime ridden streets. That idea had left her when she started looking more into the causalities sustained by the law enforcers and their fellow security personal. The idea of being sent there after the academy had been very real, and she dreaded every moment till she was notified that she'd be working in Zootopia. It was in its own regards just as dangerous, but nothing was as bad as the city beneath the city, which was often in some gang conflict. Though this didn't get her out of having to go there, that was if she went into SWAT. Even the giant metropolis so many kilometers away would have to send in its units when the situations got way out of hand, normally in the shape of a riot.

She had only wanted to take her husband to show him the safer areas, to show him around and tell him about the history of the city beneath the surface. Truly it was an engineering and architectural feat on its own, bearing in mind that it had taken two whole decades of superstitious-cautious labor to just get the area excavated along with the first couple of dozen buildings. It had taken an additional hundred years to build the city up to what it was today, all of the problems from the time of its building coming with it to the present.

The gangs were little more than remnants of the striking workers who had demanded more pay and that their employers put more emphasis on the laborers safety. Even though it was now credited to be a city in constant turmoil, it was absolutely breathtaking to see it. It proved what animals could do when they truly put their minds to it, coming together to actually put an idea into reality. If only social matters were as simple as making buildings, then a lot of her problems would have been solved for now, and she'd be out of a job.

"Are they doing the fireworks tonight?" Jana, her sister from the thirty-second litter asked aloud to no one in particular. Judy looked over to her right side to answer her sibling, however their brother, Tony, from the thirty-fourth litter, beat her to it.

"Nonononononononoono! It'stomorrownight, they'redoingthetestrocketstonight, mightgettoseesomeofthenewonesthough!" he shot back like a machine gun, his head following his speech as he was constantly twitching and never looking in the same place for long. This was his hyperkinesia and his tachyphrasia disorders, which was rather depressing to see in such a sweet kid at his age. His speech problems he had always had, but his hyperkinesia had started six years ago and it had been much worse before his medical therapies, along with a few surgeries.

"Right, duh, stupid me I always forget," the snow white doe laughed, face palming herself. The mixed gray buck giggled from where he sat next to her, having calmed down as he was distracted. Judy smiled as she watched them for a few moments longer.

"Judy?" a recognizable voice asked, her eyes shutting tight as she felt an uncomfortable tug at the pit of her stomach. "Judy!" the voice called to her side, her ears having become droopy as she heard the mammal come closer, stopping a meter away.

"Thought I'd never find you," he commented , not having moved any closer, thankfully giving her space. "Glad I was wrong. So…how have you been?" he sounded a little out of breath from how he was sucking in air.

Forcing her eyes open, the doe looked over to her left side. Though the light wasn't great, and she couldn't quite clearly make out that much detail from how dark it was, she could see that it was her ex. Knowing that the gig of avoiding him was finally up, she pushed herself back up to her rear-paws, then brushed her legs off. Only then did the doe look into the gray blue eyes of the buck.

"I've been doing alright, Jack….what about yourself?" she greeted, crossing her arms over her chest, her right ear twitching irritably.

"Well enough, just been busy the last pawful of years," his white furry paws nonchalantly shoved into a pair of black business jeans, his matching dress shirt was unbuttoned, revealing a white undershirt and black tie. "I don't have to ask what you've been up to. You've been pretty busy, I heard about what happened in Zootopia, nicely done by the way," he smiled handsomely, making her want to punch her brain for putting that word in her head, but it was true, he was a handsome rabbit.

"Thanks," her ears had perked up a bit, this wasn't as bad as she originally thought it was going to be. But the silence that had fallen on the hill top, was starting to make her a little uncomfortable. Her families eyes were carefully studying this interaction, from the way the buck's eyes were always darting back to her face, she could deduct that her brothers were staring him down.

"So the suits new, what have you gotten yourself into now?"

"Nothing as exciting as being a cop," his own ears twitched as they picked up the sound of her family conversing quietly behind her. The rabbit's fur was entirely white, besides the areas it was jet black, like his ears which had bigger strips of dark fur at the tips, making their way an eight down them only to be broken with a small white gap then another strip of black, the rest was pallid till it met the top of his head. Then there were the stripes that came around each side of his face, giving him more defining character then most bunnies in Bunnyburrows.

"I'm going to guess a banker," she gestured a paw at him, her voice still a little harsh. "Or a business man, a secretary, maybe even a lawyer."

"I'm the owner of Houndsmen Tailory, that little shop on Kingstreet," he declared proudly. "It's not much, but the big boys and girls from Zootopia, Mammaltropolis, Fursburough, Slothsville, Polartown, Moose fields, Grizzly Canopy, Hoove Mountain, Gorilla Canopy, Forest Den, New-Pork city, San Fran-hiss-co, Memfish,Meowmi, Clawston DC, Polartown, Hopsville, IstanBULL, there's a few others, but that's where most of our buyers are from. We've had to expand over the last two years because we're doing so well," he said with a little smugness to his voice.

"I'm glad that everything's working out for you," she meant it, but was starting to grow curious, was this really just a catch-up, or was this just one of his usual suave maneuvers.

"Thanks. It's good to see that everything worked out for you as well, you're still an officer and you weren't squashed," this was able to make her grin, it was similar to something her husband had said a while back.

"It'll take a lot more than being stepped on to put me out of the field. You'd be surprised how often it nearly happens," Savage laughed to that, having to pull a paw from his pocket to hide his grin.

"I'd be too afraid to step on you, you're scarier than most animals would give you credit for," the same paw had gone to the back of his skull, rubbing it fretfully. "Look…..I'll come clean with you, this isn't just a typical catch up…my prior messages to you implied as much," the officer let out a growl, ears lowering back crossly as her assumptions were made correct.

"Jack…" she tried to warn but was cut short, making her bad humor even worse than it was.

"Listen, please," even with everything they had gone through, all the anger as well as the other indifferent emotions she felt towards him, her morbid curiosity got the best of her. With a sharp nod she allowed him to continue, to which he did and also took a few cautious steps closer to her.

"Judy, I know that things ended badly between us," she snorted and rolled her eyes, it was an understatement if there ever was one. "But I want you to know that I'm sorry for what I did," he sighed, both paws out of his pockets as he gestured about. "My anger got the best of me, but it wasn't because of what you wanted to do. I thought that after all those years that we were friends, and the years we were together that you would have…." he paused, glancing back into her eyes before he pressed on. "I thought you would have talked to me about it. Asked me what I thought, or to discuss what our relationship would be like while you were away, or if you just wanted to end it. But you not even talking to me about it…..it hurt," he admitted, his voice having become soft, tired, as though he had spent many nights reliving that one single night.

The other rabbit was conflicted with an array of emotions, her worst fears having become true. It wasn't an overreaction, it was something she would have probably have done if he had decided to drop out of college, or decided to start a business of his own without filling her in. It made her feel even worse, more than she already did about how things had ended between them.

"Jack….I'm sorry about not talking to you about it, but you knew that I was going to become a cop from the beginning. Do you really think I would have changed my mind even if you tried to convince me not to?"

"No, not really. But I thought…hoped you would have talked to me about it at least. I didn't want to lose what we had when you left, that's what I was more worried about," he mumbled, angling the side of his body away from her, staring off at the town with a gloomy expression, his eyes reflecting some of the twinkling lights. Letting out a defeated sigh, he looked back at her with a hopeful expression. "Can we go somewhere else….so we can talk in private?" his eyes left hers for a glimpse of a second, apparently her brothers were still watching him.

"N….no we can't," she said gently.

"But…Judy I ne….."

"No, Jack," her voice becoming stern, twisting her right hind-paw into the ground, not being swayed this time. "I'm waiting for someone here, so you'll just have to ask here."

"Have it your way." The buck shook his head in irritation and she was sure she heard him grumble underneath his breath. "Like anything's changed there…." she didn't call him out on it, letting the few tense moments pass before he asked. "So who are we…who are you waiting for my dear?"

"My _husband_ ," she leaned forward a bit, emphasizing the word heavily, arms still crossed against her chest.

"Ohhhh, that flea-bitten mongrel I take it. The one who we've all been hearing so much about?" his voice was dripping with sarcasm, giving a nod of his head with a disgusted grunt.

"Awwwww, I'm just absolutely thrilled," her husband's voice drifted a little ways off as he approached them. "He dressed all up and fancy to meet me. Awwww I'm absolutely flattered…!" the vulpine threw his arms out wildly, as though performing for a show.

"Nick!" she pleaded as she hissed at him, her family along with other animals watching the altercation.

"I honestly thought that you being married to that was just something the media fabricated," the buck sneered, but it was more directed to the predator.

"Jack! Nick! Both of you that's enough," she growled threateningly, as they were creating a scene, catching everyone's attention. Her mate opened his mouth to shoot something back at her ex, but he saw the desperate look in her eye, making him do as she asked. It was more than just keeping the peace, it was because they were still in uniform and the last thing Judy wanted was to give the police a bad rep.

"Thank you Judy, thought I was going to have to call the pound," the buck smiled amusedly, glaring at the fox darkly who had taken a threatening step toward him with a menacing growl, luckily to be stopped by the other officer.

"Mr. Savage, please go home before I'm forced to fine you for aggravating an officer," she had her arms spread out behind her, keeping Nick from doing something he'd regret later.

"Oh please, you can't be serious. I'm only speaking the truth about him. I mean honestly, you're standard must have fallen over the years, just look at him," he waved a hand over at the taller officer, who bit down on his tongue so he didn't retort. The doe placed a paw flatly against his abdomen, feeling her partner trembling. It was normally best to let him shoot back his own remarks but not while they were in uniform, and in a public setting.

"I'm serious, one more It's a fine and a night in a cell Mr. Savage," she snarled, having felt the fox behind her take a another step making her have to dig her paws into the ground.

"Alright, alright, I've had my fun. Now don't forget Judy, you're welcome to come over whenever you like, right after you dump this pile of crap where it belongs, in the slums where they belong."

"GET OUT OF HERE," Tristen had seemingly materialized from the darkness, Ford and Harrison having come from he had come, only to walk over to the rest of their family, watching with amused expressions. Judy was a little thrown off by this, so much so that she lost her footing, only to be caught by her husband, who had snapped out of his bloodlust, that had moments ago nearly gotten the best of him.

The buck that easily towered over Jack, shoved him backwards, making him fall flat on his back, where he started to scramble backwards spluttering in outrage. The taller male simply pulled him back to his back-paws with his tie, before spinning him around and giving him a heavy shove to the back, causing him stumble forward, barely catching himself. "GO ON!" the welder bellowed stomping on the other's heels, making him scurry forward. "I SAID GIT, GO ON GIT!" he yelled after the other buck who had put a kick in his step and hurriedly left.

"Tristen….." there were so many thing that she wanted to ask, to say to her brother, but all that left her muzzle was. "Thanks," to which he replied to with a curt nod. From the distance that he was at, that as well as the lighting, she was sure that he was hiding a sinning smirk behind the paw he had lifted up to his face, wiping his nose as he headed over to the rest of his family, who had also fallen silent.

"Jud….Judith…..I'm so sorry," the rabbit officer turned around to find that her partner had taken to sitting on the ground, holding his head in his paws. "I'm sorry," he repeated again. Judy had fallen to her knees in front of him, wrapping her arms around the back of his head and neck, pulling him to rest against her padded chest. With a tired sigh she then buried her face into the top of his head fur, trying her best to soothe him of his worries as he trembled, from nearly losing his control, from actually going savage on an animal. His eyes were shut tight, ears pinned against the back of his skull in fright, as though he expected to be yelled at. As she whispered to him, it wasn't his fault, and there was nothing to be sorry for.

* * *

 **HI: First things off, I'm sorry that this is basically out a day late. I've lost a sense of time while here in Australia. It's Sunday, nearly Monday morning here, so it'll be Monday morning, evening, afternoon back home. Sorry again for this coming out a day later than usual, it was due to me not losing the time and also because this was done Saturday evening, Saturday morning for you folk, yes I know, time zones are a pain to work with. I was about to publish this out at nine thousand words, but I decided to add the additional scene with Jack Savage in this chapter, instead of starting off chapter seventeen with it. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter as much as I did struggling with it, honestly, I had a lot of writers block XD. Hope it's not too all over the place for you.**

 **Now I'd like to say this much, to those of you who are die hard Jack Savage fans, and I know that there are a few of you on this website. I have nothing against this character, accept that he was a potential romantic partner to Judy. I, as you have probably all figured out by now have shipped Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde, and I will never divert these two away from each other. In my opinion they'd make a great couple, and the movie even suggests as much, even with the actual directors and crew denying that was their intention. Either way, Jack Savage coming off as a jerk was just my way of putting a potential character in the movie in the story. He doesn't play a nice role I know, but he'll add to the stories plot, because trust me, he's coming back.**

 **Right, so before I fall asleep and don't submit this, some of you may be confused by the ending to this chapter. What do you mean that Nick almost went savage? Well, I've made it quite clear but not put it into words. There's the night howlers, which I explained how it's effects work in this story, which is based on the original plans made by the actual writers of Zootopia. Who originally planned on Nick getting hit with it when he was planned to the protagonist, but he didn't go savage or attack Judy. No it was against his instincts to attack her because they were friends (even borderline romantic relationship if you look deeper into the original plot) in what I'm referring to as Distopia, or the darker version of Zootopia.**

 **Either way, if you look at what the definition of savage means, one of them is fierce, violent** _ **uncontrolled.**_ **Now for many chapters now, even in this one I have hinted that Nick's worst fear is losing control, because he wouldn't be accountable of his actions. What does this mean though? Well, if any of you have had a predator based pet like a dog, cat or the more exotic ones like wolves, foxes, coyotes, mainly canines. Well if they have ever attacked you without warning and you have a deep connection with them and their the quote un quote man's best friend, you've probably seen their reaction when they realize what they've done in the aftermath. They're afraid, they're scared, and they hesitant to go near you again, because they know they messed up and they're afraid of our reactions. This isn't always the case, some just attack because they do. But in the regards of the story this is what Nick, along with predator species are afraid of, and that's losing their sense of control and going savage, attacking another animal in fierce violent manner. That's why our favorite fox collapses and starts crying, because he nearly did lose control and attack Jack. Sure the jerk deserved it, but it's against Nick's morals, and he doesn't want animals to be afraid of him because he's a predator. So that's why.**

 **Well folks, I'll probably be reading through this again and again to clean up the more horrid mistakes that I made, please point them out, mention them whatever it takes to get me to fix them. Also I'll be adding something new to the next update, I'll start mentioning those of you who inspired names, answering questions, and also showing you where I got my inspiration from. Now thanks to all of guys, this story has made 300 hundred reviews, 403 favorites, 576 followers and has been viewed by 68,880 people or simply just viewed. Wow, thanks a lot everyone, thank you for being a part of this awesome and amazing experience. I never expected this story to get over fifty anything. From my heart, thank you all of you for bringing so much attention, love and support to my work, it's been an honor writing this story for you guys. Please continue to review, favorite, follow, and just pass this story to friends and others who'd be interested. Thanks for being such great folks. This is Reverend Archangel signing off, till next time. Also, the rating has gone up to M, due to demand and the promise I made of five votes, which actually gained over ten votes, I think it was thirteen or more. XD you guys. Also last thing before I do go, there will be a passionate scene or two coming up, I'll inform you to all when it's coming, but this story won't turn into a smut, sex driven story, I promise.**


	17. Torrent of Events

**_Chapter XVII_**

 ** _Torrent of Events_**

"Nick?" Judy called with a sweet, gentle voice.

"….."

"Come on, time to wake up," the smaller mammal placed a paw on his shoulder, giving him a little shake. All that she got in reply was a purrish like growl as he rolled onto his other side, facing his back to her while he also tangled the blankets around him like a cocoon.

"Really? We're really doing this?" she asked incredulously; he just snuggled further into the pillows with a sigh as he got comfy, one arm shoved underneath the pillow beneath his head, the other draped over his side his hidden paw occasionally twitching.

The doe shook her head with a bemused expression as she studied the fox, chuckling to herself quietly. Seeing that there was nothing else for it, she crawled up onto the bed, resting on her knees behind him, grasping his bare furred arm around the shoulder with both paws, she shook him more vigorously.

"Wake up Snugly Bug, or the birds are going to catchya," she cooed playfully.

"Uhhhhhaaahuhhhhh, noooooooo, errhhh dnnn wannnnna rmmmm thmmm crrrse tadah," he mumbled, trying to curl himself even further into a ball, demonstrating just how truly flexible foxes were, in addition to how truly stubborn they were this early in the morning.

"Nick, it's my bed, an-and it's ti-time to wake up!" she tried to say sternly as she continued to shake him, but it failed horribly, his recent comment had caused a smile to break out across her muzzle.

"Rrrrrrrrrrrr,"he growled warningly, his ears lowering as he raised his hackles enough to show his fangs.

"Ohhhh, you totally didn't just do that," she challenged playfully, to which he answered by shoving her with his own paw, nearly making her topple off the bed.

"Right, sleep times over!" she stated, having grown a little tired of this now. Taking pawfuls of the fur covering his ribs and stomach , so she could find a better grip, and with a great deal of effort, the doe pulled him so he was laying on his back. This worked, yet at the same time somewhat backfired, as he let out a sharp yelp. This made the prey jump, her fur standing on end, feeling as though her heart had just attempted to burst from her chest.

"Owwwww! Wh…what the hell, Judy!" the tod whined, petting out the now sore spots, each feeling on fire from nearly having the fur torn from the roots.

"I said to get up!" she hissed loudly, having placed a paw over her hammering heart.

"Yeah, I am now you crazy little hopper," he shot back accusingly, throwing his head back against the pillows behind him.

"Urrrhhhhhhh specieist remarks this early, you never make getting up easy," the younger of the two grumbled, shuffling over to him where she promptly flopped across his stomach. Underneath her she felt the muscles go taught as he let out a soft puff of air from the sudden force.

"It's part of the package darling, should have read the fine print before you signed the contract," the tod teased as he started stroking the fur of her back, starting up at the nape of her neck, trailing down the curvature of her spine to her fluffy tail, which he'd lavish tender squeezes to.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, laugh it up! Make fun of me while you're at it," she closed her eyes, resting her chin on her paws as he caressed her bare furred body, neither of them having left the room or bothered to get dressed yet. Only difference was that she had been awake for the last half-hour.

"Don't be so grumpy, the festival's over now, we're officially on vacation again," the officer used the back of his free paw to stroke the fur of her right cheek. Not too long of this went by before he proceeded to scoot back a little, leaning back against the pillow covered backboard, making it easier for him to watch her.

"Yeah….but there's so much to do," she sighed, enjoying her husband's sensuous touching.

"What's more important than cuddling away the mornings with me?"

"Sorting everything out for my family reunion."

"Uhhhhh, right," he groused. "Your army of a family is coming over, I'm so going to be sticking out like a red scarf at a gray convention."

"It won't be that bad, you'll have Gideon and his family to keep you company."

"Jonathan and him decided to tell your folks, I take it, or is this something your family usually invites them to?"

"Yeah…" she let out a moan as his paws had gone to kneading her back, loosening her stiff joints and muscles.

"Yeah what, Carrots? Gonna keep your predator in the dark, hmmm," he danced his fingers lightly over her sides making her squirm and giggle.

"T-th-they told them sometime during the second night of the festival," she was able to huff when she calmed down.

"Guess we weren't around to see that, or?" he had returned his attention to her back.

"It was when we were off duty…..oh gods that feels sooo goooood," her back arched as he dealt with a particularly stiff knot.

"Oh, when you decided to drag me onto all the rides, and take me to all the stands?"

"Mmmmmhmmmm."

"How'd you find out then?" he had been working on her shoulders, working his way down her back, all the while he was listening intently to their conversation. Albeit, it was difficult not to get distracted by her reactions. That, along with having forgotten about where she had abused him earlier, having become quite captivated in watching his paws as they groomed through his wife's downy-soft gray fur.

"Jonathan told me yesterday when we ran into each other…." she closed her eyes tightly, purring in satisfaction as her mate gave her a genuine massage.

"Was this before or after we were making our rounds?"

"Before, when we were still on duty."

"Ahhh, that would explain why I didn't hear about it," he pressed a little harder into her spine then he had meant to, making her cringe. "Sorry, you got a lot of tension back here."

"It's okay, thanks for doing this."

"These are only for you, I'd be more than happy to do it anytime if you ask," he smirked deviously.

"No surprise there."

"Now, Carrots," he scolded. "Is it so wrong for me to enjoy helping my wife to loosen up a bit? he leaned forward, pressing his elbow against the knot, seeing if this would deal with it.

"No, I like how you touch me…" the doe let out a soft moan as the bedroom was filled with several loud pops.

"There we go, Whiskers," the way he was purring as he talked was pleasant in her ears. "Relax, let me take care of you," she laughed dryly from how cliché that sounded, but didn't bring it up. A pawful of minutes filled with content silence ticked on by, in which the younger mammal started to nod off. That was till her mate asked in a offhanded tone.

"Co….could you keep me more up to date with what's going on with your family?".

"Yeah I will…..why the sudden interest, Sweetheart?" her voice full of curiousness, not having expected him to ask.

"Well, as you know, I was a hormonal, troubled, little cub, only child too. I never had any siblings to play or compete with, never had anyone to pin the blame on," he said in a mock-brooding voice. "It explains why my mother had such an awful time with me, I had too much energy because I didn't have anyone else to throw it at. It would explain all my other mental problems if you think about it," she chucked from that, he definitely wasn't wrong about being a nut or bolt loose up there. "Well now that I'm lawfully apart of your family because of you, I gained quite a _few_ , wouldn't you say?"

"Understatement if I've ever heard one," she murmured, her cheeks darkening a little as he started to work on her lower back.

"Yeah, tell me about it. But seriously, I'd like to be more involved. That is, if you could handle me stealing all your siblings love and admiration away from you," he snickered, watching her face for a reaction.

"Have fun, they're quite a pawful," the doe only opened her right eye, having rested the left side of her face on her paws. Her partner's emeralds were staring into her amethyst devotedly.

"I'm quite sure I will, they're really warming up to me," he ran his paws up and down the hourglass curves of her body, stopping at her hips, not having dared any further quite yet.

"You can go lower if you want," she rolled her visible eye with false disgust, yet in reality a part of her had hoped that he would have done it with his own intuition. Whereas another was thrilled that he had waited, showing how much he truly appreciated her.

"And they say foxes are perverted and dirty," the vulpine shook his head with a wistful tone, before he dropped the act with that all too familiar lazy smile. Leaning forward, he begun to nuzzle behind her ear, giving it a few little nibbles with his fangs. "It would be my pleasure, Carrots," the predator rumbled deeply with his throat adoringly.

"Remember when I asked you not to call me that?" she mused fondly.

"How could I forget?" he noted, having sat back, his paws now working around and below her tail. "You practically came stalking…."

"It wasn't stalking!"

"Right, we call it trailing a suspicious looking animal," he sighed. "AKA, Honey, stalking."

"Erhhhhh, never going let me live that down, are you?"

"Of course not, it'll be a great way to tell our kids how their parents met, it's almost like a romantic story…in a stalkerish kinda way?" the rabbit let out a puff of air, pressing her forehead against her crossed forearms.

"So as you were saying?" the other officer asked with a smug voice, as he had moved onto her rump, eliciting a number of assorted verbal responses.

"I just thought it was funny, now that it's my pet name," she breathed pleasurably, her muzzle having darkened a degree once again.

"Along with Fluff, Fluff-Butt, Honey-Bunny, Dumb Bunny, Clever Bunny, Sly Bunny, Evil Bunny, Blanket Bandit and Whiskers," he listed. "Care to guess which one's my favorite?" he murmured, moving down to the back of her legs, gradually working his way down to her hind-paws, drawing this out for as long as he could.

"I don't know, Dumb Bunny?"

"No, guess again."

"I swear if it's Fluff-Butt!" she growled.

"No, but really? You honestly think I'm that mean?" she nodded, making him laugh incredulously as he quietly shouted, "Oh come on, you know me better than this!" she laughed as well, smiles tugging at both of their muzzles. "But it's Honey-Bunny, Carrots is definitely a close second," he sighed.

"Why though, you only started using it…..oh. Oh Nick, you're too sweet."

"Yep, I'm a sentimental bushy bag of fur," her mate stated proudly. He added with a gentle voice. "Ever since we got married I've tried to be a better animal, Judith,  
he confessed, not having said this to her before.

"Not because it's the right thing to do, or to prove something, but mainly because you believed that I could. Something that no other animal besides my mother ever did." The rabbit had rolled onto her back so she could look up at her husband more clearly. Her wide eyes studying him, as though this was the first time she had seen him in years.

"God, this sounds corny as hell, not really the best place since we're naked," the fox shook his head with a scowl, hating to be overly lovely dovely. "Really though, you changed my life, Judith," he summed up what he was getting at, not being able to beat around the bush any longer. Especially not with how his emeralds had gotten fixated on her amethysts, both getting lost in the others.

"Nicholas….."

"I love you, Judith. I never felt this way about my other mates. I don't want to ever feel this way with anyone else," he rubbed his eyes with his arm, sniffling. "You gotta dust in here more, Fluff," he gave a bitter chuckle, one full of emotion.

"I love you, Nicholas, I love you so much," she crawled up his body till she was eye level with him, with a leg on each side of his torso. She ran her padless fingers through the bushy, warm fur of his muzzle, gazing deeply into his eyes. "I feel exactly the same, you saw how much of a…..a…..jerck Jack was. I don't want anyone else other than you. I don't care what anyone else thinks, I don't care what they say about us, I love you with all my heart, " she closed the distance between them, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck, burying her muzzle into the front of his neck.

"You…..you're crying ," he sniffled feebly, not able to see her face, but he could feel the fur of his neck dampening. He didn't tease her about it, bearing in mind that he wasn't doing any better. Instead he encircled his arms around her smaller body, drawing her even closer to him.

"I know!" I'm j-j…ju-jus….just so happy!" she was finally able to gasp, not having been able to stop the tears from building or escaping.

"Y…your doors locked right? I don't want your family coming in to see us naked and crying like this," he chuckled but it came out more as a weak sob.

"Yeah…I did…..it…it'd be funny if someone did though," she had her eyes squeezed shut as she nuzzled him, laughing softly at irregular moments when she was crying. After a short while this caused her to start trembling as she got the hiccups, making her mate snicker.

"Awwww, there, there," the reynard rubbed the spot between her shoulder blades soothingly. "You're just too adorable when you're like this," he couldn't help but to say it.

"I know," she gasped-chuckled.

The doe pressed herself even closer into her fox's warm hold, taking deep breaths, periodically her hiccups making her convulse. It was silent for a while as the husband and wife held onto one another. Neither of them understood why they had fallen apart into a display of waterworks, but they shrugged it off. Instead they relished in the warm intimacy of their embrace, neither wanting to break away from the warm hold. Though, like all things must, the moment was broken.

"Hey!" a rapid assault of knocks came from the door. "Judy, Nick! Mom and Dad want everyone out to give a hand with setting crap up, means you two love birds as…!" her brother from the eleventh litter, Christopher called but stopped, "…urmmmmm. I didn't just interrupt something, did I?"

"No….no! It's not like you interrupted us cuddling or anything. What do you think we do in here?" Nick yelled, receiving an annoyed and embarrassed groan from the buck.

"Ri-right! Just hurry up in there, before I get the idea of you two being funky painted in my brain," the officers heard him mumbling as he walked away. "Why? Why's it always me who walks in on shit like this?"

"Time to get up then," the fox stated the obvious, but hadn't made a move since his wife was still on top of him.

"Guess so," she had leaned back enough so he could look down at her, a few centimeters now between their muzzles. One of his paws had settled at the back of her head, scratching behind her left ear with a claw, getting her to purr.

"I think that'll require you getting off of me, don't you think, Carrots?"

"Yeah, but you're forgetting something," she looked at him with half-closed lids, her eyes looking into his, successfully seducing him in mashing their muzzles together in a deep kiss.

"Forget to kiss my mate? Don't ever count on it," he breathed as they pulled apart for air.

"Good," she pressed her pink nose against his purple one, distracting them with a brief nuzzle. "Now, you going to get out of bed this time?" she inquired as she got off of him, walking over to her clothes draws to slip into some clothes.

"Hmmmm, I'm enjoying the view from here," he crossed his arms behind his head, watching her contently. The prey rolled her eyes in disbelief, but she twitched her fluffy tail for him, making him whistle as he got out of the bed.

Not hearing anymore sounds from her partner, she continued to rummage through her draws. There wasn't a single extravagant item in her room, she had never been a doe who liked dresses or the more feminine articles of clothing. To be honest it didn't really matter to her, as long as she didn't have to be overly careful of what she was wearing. For starters, she hated having to stitch tears, and with her line of work a dress would be practically useless. If it was up to her husband though, she doubted she'd own a single pair of boy shorts less alone the few panties she owned. He much preferred seeing her in her bare fur, which was perfectly alright with her, as long as he didn't try and get them to live like the animals of the naturalist club.

The officer took out a white button up work shirt with thin red horizontal and vertical lines, a pair of blue jeans and underwear, which she placed on top of the cabinet. Before she could start slipping into her clothes a pair of red-furred arms captured her around the middle, pulling her snuggly against a creamy furred chest. She hadn't heard him walk from behind her, or in that fact leave the room. Had he been standing behind her this entire time?

"Couldn't help myself," he gave the spot before the groove between her neck and shoulder a nip and lick, a place where the fur had become thin over the last two years. This was due to the reason that it was the place he always gave his love bite when they mated. For foxes it was a sign of affection and also a claim mark, letting other animals know that she was off limits, for rabbits it was just a questionable scar, holding no significance. To her it was as symbolic as her wedding and engagement bands, physical testimony of them being mates, that they were husband and wife.

"Hmmmmm, nice of you to stick around," she reached behind her, cupping the side of his muzzle, persuading his lips to hers for another kiss, this one sorter and less passionate.

"I was thinking. Once we're done giving yo…our family a paw, how about we head off to The Underground for a little while?"

"Again, why the sudden change of mind?"

"Well, not that we haven't gotten plenty of alone time," he smiled down at her, holding her head in his paw so she was looking up at him. "But you seemed a little put out when I said no. It'll be fun, as long as we don't get jumped or caught in the middle of something."

"Alright, we'll see how long this takes," she felt his heart against her back, beating rhythmically, slowly, signs that he was healthy.

"Sounds like we got ourselves a plan," he pressed his lips against the root of her muzzle, making her close her eyes and press into him.

"We should get dressed before my parents decide to come get us."

"What? Don't want them to see their precious daughter…." he tightened his hold on her as she begun to struggle as he rubbed his face against hers, his course fur brushing abrasively against her softer fur, getting her to giggle hysterically,"…. having her downy fur being abused by a scary predators, bushy….course fur….."

"Stooop! I get it!" she shoved his face away, with a wide smile.

"That's my gurl, now it's time I go slip into something a little more confining" he let go of her as he padded his way into the guest room, where he was keeping all his clothes and police gear. He didn't bother to close either of the doors behind him, since the two of them were comfortable getting dressed and undressed in front of the other. "What tie do you think I should wear?"

"Oh sweet cheese n'crackers," she said under her breath.

"I have sharp hearing too, you know!" he yelled back in a sing song tone.

"Just pick one!" she yelled back with a laugh. "Don't take too long….."

"I'm right here, Fluff-Butt, no need to yell" she felt him wrap his arms around her middle again, completely clothed and ready to go. "See that you're not decent still," a paw had roamed up to her breast, losing his fingers in the fur.

"Soooo, going to get dressed, or you trying to tell me something," he murred into her ear.

"I….I'm jus-just thinking and I didn't have exactly that much time," she stuttered, knowing how he was trying to play things out.

"Alright, I'll see you out there," her husband kissed the side of her muzzle with a sloppy lick, letting her go again. "Don't keep us waiting, Carrots or I'll be back," he called over his shoulder as he walked to the door.

Before the lapin could throw back a clever remark, she heard the soft metallic click of the door opening and just as quickly being shut. Knowing that she couldn't stand where she was all day, she started getting dressed, planning to go wash her face and comb the places that her fur was mattered. The last thing she wanted to deal with were the awkward questions that would arise from her family if she didn't. She'd rather save herself from all the embarrassment that would cause; Nick wouldn't be of any help in that matter, he'd just make it worse by saying something witty or suggestive about why her fur was in the state it was in.

There was enough to worry about as there were, with the media blowing their relationship out of proportions and more out of context than it really was. There were also all the problems this was bringing to the ZPD's doormat. All on the basis, that if the chain of command didn't know that two of their very own were married, how could the public as a while, put trust in the authorities if there were obviously gaps on the information regarding their officers? The doe could only somewhat agree with this, but their superiors didn't know because they had gotten married discreetly. If the general public's concerns were on the ground that officers had gaps and were sloppy in their information, they were sorely mistaken.

Not that this was common knowledge for an average animal, but initiating officers had to go through an intense background investigation. Judy knew this well, as they had gone through information about her at school, credit check, drug use, driving record, past employments, references from neighbors, what she posted on social networks, misdemeanors and felonies. Everything that she had done, or been part of in her life had to be combed through with a fine brush to insure that she could qualify to be an officer. Not only that, but they were watched closely by their superiors and the government to make sure that they didn't step out of line. Simply put, the animals of Zootopia had nothing to worry about, but this didn't stop the media from making this a bigger deal than it actually was.

Not only that, but she was hesitant to be heading back to their department, knowing take that Chief Bogo would be having a _nice_ chat with them when they got back. He could have called them, she was a little surprised he hadn't with what they had stirred up. This couldn't cost them their job, she was sure of that. It didn't mean he wouldn't punish them with a two week suspension of pay, or give them parking duty for the next month or two. If he didn't call them to have one of his famous tongue lashings, then they'd have to wait and see what was waiting for them when they got back.

The doe wasn't the only one stressing out about all this either, her partner was just hiding it better, the only lapse had been when he had nearly lost it on her ex. The fox had shown that he didn't honestly care if they were punished for causing this entire uproar, having stated more than once that it was their life and no one else had a say on it. But what had him wound tighter than a spring, was the fact that they could possibly be separated from being partners. It wasn't one of their protocols, regulations, or codes of operation, it was simply put in Bogo's hoofs.

They could request for a specific officer to be their partner as she had with her mate, but the verdict was down to their boss in the end. If he observed that two of his personal didn't work together well, or he was informed that there were problems he'd assign them new ones. If more problems arose then he'd assign who an officer's partner would be for the day in the morning assembly. A great example of how he had split apart a married couple were Wolford and Fangmeyer. From what she had heard from her fellow associates, they either argued or got along well when they had been partners. Eventually their miscommunication caused a criminal to get away, which had been the reason they weren't allowed to work together.

In easier terms, they might have to come accept the fact that they weren't going to be working together anymore. Well, not the in the way they were now anyways. They could both work with everyone at the station well enough, so if this was how things would play out when they got back, then they'd have to accept it. Nonetheless, the rabbit was going to argue that Nick and her were a great team, and not once had they ever shirked off their duties. This though, would be a conversation saved for a week's time when they returned to their normal duties. At the moment, now that she was done fixing her face fur, she had to go help her family with setting up for the reunion.

 _Several hours later…._

"Soooooooooo," Nick drawled from where he was slouched against the corner of the elevator, his paws shoved into his pockets, once in a while rocking back and forth, "we've been on here for… what is it now? Five, six minutes?" he questioned as he watched the digital indicator, only difference was that it didn't read the levels. It just had the word Descending in neon red letters.

"You have a phone!" Judy shot back with a grin, having leaned up against the wall next to him the entire time.

"I could say the same for you, Hun Bun, there's another one," he chuckled.

Six minutes," she confirmed taking her phone out and seeing the time, but not before slapping his thigh to shush him.

"Ahhhhh, I'm going to die in an elevator," he grumbled. "Not exactly how I thought I'd go out."

"Stop being such a cub," she groaned, having been listening to him whining since the second minute had passed. Strangely enough they were the only two had gotten on, unluckily for her too, or he'd have been quiet.

"Then talk to me or something. You know I don't like being confined in these things for too long," he accused. "It's a metal coffin if the cables snap," he pressed his fingers to the opening in his right ear, taking on a reporter like voice. "Breaking news, Officers Nick and Judy Wilde die in horrible elevator accident, now to Kent whose reporting to us from The Underground," his voice became more nasally as he went on. "Thanks Pete. As many of you know, Judy and Nick Wilde were killed at The Underground, when Elevator 13 experienced a fatal failure. This resulted in the main cable to snap and the emergency systems to become unresponsive, plunging the faces of the ZPD to their untimely deaths. I currently can't get a picture as the authorities aren't allowing any at this time…." he trailed off, and shook his head with a nervous sigh, a noticeable shiver running over his body.

"Why don't you like elevators. We're twelve times as likely to die crossing the street or driving," she asked softly, having refrained from teasing him as he was obviously showing signs of being uncomfortable.

"When I was Fifteen running up to sixteen, an even more hormonally unbalanced time of my life," his voice was low, as it usually was when he reminisced his past. "I was trying to get by still with more honest work, namely baby-sitting and care taking. Well I was looking after this one Zebra's daughter….her name was Elisa," a smile broke its way out, his eyes lightening a degree, his shoulders relaxing a little.

"She wanted to be a pianist, a strange dream for a kid at the age of five to have," the tod had forced his eyes away from the plain steel door to look at her, with an amused smile. "But hey, kids are crazy little things, so much energy and imagination, remind you of someone?" he elbowed her, making her grin and nod. "I hope she did, because she was talented at it, not great but she was doing far better than I could do when I was her age. Seriously, I remember my grandfather pulling me away from his piano so I would stop the racket," his eyes closed as fell into a brief chuckle fit.

"Ahhhh, this probably isn't making sens…" his smile abruptly disappeared as the steel walled cage shook, making him close his eyes shut, ears shooting back as he grimaced and trembled as their undersized and limited world shook around them.

Judy pressed herself into his side, wrapping her right arm around his middle, doing her best to reassure him that everything was alright. It amazed her that mammals much bigger than herself were afraid of the silliest of things. There was nothing to fear but fear itself, was something she had believed since she was a kitten. Nick's near death experience had dampened that confidence a little. Since then she had become more cautious at work now, not wanting to put him through what she had gone through.

The elevator only shook for fifteen seconds, but the rabbit was certain that it felt like hours for her partner. He had calmed a little as she hugged him and stroked the fur of his arm, having slipped her paw underneath his green Hawaiian shirt with a paw.

"Okay?" she asked a few moments later.

"I'll….I'll be alright, thanks Whiskers…sorry about that," he mumbled, scratching the back of his head shamefacedly.

"There's nothing to be sorry about," she gave him a lighthearted shove, getting him to grin again. "Going to tell me the rest, Slick?"

"Mmmmhmmm, now where did I leave of…" the vulpine hummed as he rubbed his chin between his pointer finger and thumb. He gave a snap of his fingers as he remembered. "Right, so when Elisa's mother came back from work I headed out, I foolishly took the elevator that day, since they lived on the twenty-fourth floor of this high-rise," he rubbed his face with a paw. "Must have been my unlucky day or something because on the way down the cables malfunctioned and I shot down about six floors, the brakes shaved my life," he mumbled.

"Thing is, this was an old building, so the elevator was just as old because the owner was too lazy to meet the safety building standards," he air quoted with his digits. "Whoever it was lost their ownership and had to deal with a lot of lawsuits, it was mentioned on the news for a week and in the paper for a few days. Well the thing that really sucked was that it stopped between two floors, so I couldn't get out. I was…..I am still too short to reach that hatch," he pointed up to the emergency hatch above their heads.

"Must have been my lucky day as well, because someone heard the cables snap and the elevators breaks screeching and called for help. Two hours later and I was out and on my way to find somewhere to sleep for the night," he gave a little shrug of his shoulders. "Just another of Wilde's Wild Tales, so that's why I hate these things," he pounded the wall with a closed fist making it reverberate the dull sound.

"I'm surprised you've survived this far," Judy commented with amazement.

"I know, right!" he snorted with mock-delight. "There was me getting shot, the cruiser incident when some jerk hit us off the road also how we got it stuck in the mud, that jaguar that tried to kill us when we cornered him; my brass knuckles saved us there, Smellwether and her minions, the train, the Tujunga chase, you swinging us from a vine, Mr. Big because you couldn't keep your mouth sh….."

"Hey!" she protested.

"Gotta live with it, Carrots. Nearly killed us quite a few times there. So yes, yes I am very lucky to have survived this long, especially since I've been with you."

"Can't blame it all on me," she huffed, one of hind-paws tapping irritably.

"Can't I Carrots? Can't I?," he questioned good-naturedly.

"Fine, maybe a little," she conceded.

"That's a good girl," her mate breathed as he rested his head back against the corner, closing his sea green eyes.

A short lived moment of silence passed between them before the predator presented a question that had been itching at the back of his head for a little while now.

"I'm going to guess that they're even more rabbits down here."

"We're definitely the majority…but there's a wide variety of animals."

"Ohhhh yeah, hares, got it. That's definitely what I meant," he grunted.

"They're definitely in the majority, but there's more," she defended. "There's gophers, badgers, weasels, foxes, chipmunks, bilbies, prairie dogs, red foxes, groundhogs, fennecs, moles, mongooses, shrews, meerkats, pikas, gerbils, jerobas, ferrets, weasels, lemmings, aardvarks, to list a few," the doe counted them off, getting a hum from him.

"Are…..are foxes treated better down here?"

"You would guess that, since this place has such a high rate of crime amongst all species living here," she huffed with annoyance, how the world had become this broken just baffled her, not that she had helped it any.

 _Ohhh, don't give yourself so much credit_. _The world has always been broken. That's why we need good cops_. Bogo's words wrung in her ears, only making her guilt about handing Zootopia over to a maniac even worse.

"What's wrong?" the bushy furred male raised a questioning eyebrow as he turned his head to look at her, hearing the change of tone.

"Nothing's wrong," she mumbled.

"Your ears are droopy, droopy ears been glummy bunny," he declared, giving her a knowing look.

"Just-I...did," she bit the inside of her cheek as she thought of how to put her thoughts into words. "Did I make things worse by becoming a cop?"

"In my opinion, yes," her head snapped to face his with a face full of hurt and confusion. "We both did," he added quickly, speaking quickly to get his point across. "The two of us have started a huge hullabaloo in Zootopia. I mean come on, a rabbit officer and a fox officer, we're the first in Zootopia, and in many other places as…."

"That's not what I meant," she sighed, though appreciated where he was going with it.

"What do you mean then?" he asked softly.

"Nick! I practically handed Zootopia over to a fanatical dictator on a silver platter!" the rabbit tugged her ears over her eyes, shaking her head violently. "She set everything up to make predators seem like they were going savage, that they were naturally just monsters," for once she didn't have tears in her eyes, but her words were wavering with conflicting emotions; anger, self-loathing, culpability and regret were the few outweighed the rest.

"Ju….."

"What did prey do when they got scared? We all turned against your kind…..may-maybe not all of us, but a good portion of the prey in Zootopia threw predators underneath the bus. All…..all because of me," she finally mumbled out.

"Judith," the fox sunk down to the floor where she had collapsed onto her knees, arms wrapped around herself like she was fighting off the cold. "It's not your fault," he pulled her into a hug, taken aback by how things had gone since that morning.

"Bullshit!" she exclaimed, her husband's eyebrows threatening to fly off his visage as they shot up so suddenly in shock, never before had he heard her curse in anger. "You know that's complete…."

"You ca….."

"No! It's my fault that prey and predators are acting the way they are now, I broke the thin threads that were keeping things….decent at least. We're not at each other's throats, but….nothing is the same anymore," her voices intensity had lessened till she was mumbling her words almost incoherently.

"It was partially your fault, yes," the vulpine felt her squirm against him, but he only held onto her tighter. "But seriously, Carrots. You can't forget how your situation got us there," he stroked her ears; two and half years of getting to explore her body had shown him that this, more often than not calmed her down. "It was an honest mistake, alright?"

Her male lifted her face up to his so he could peer into her eyes, but she obstinately darted hers away from his, until finally, when she realized that he wasn't going to give in she locked her gaze onto his. What he found was something that he hated even more than seeing tears soiling them. The usual shine in them had disappeared, leaving in its absence a dull-glimmering look of defeat. Showing a soul that was overburdened with the mind's fabricated demons, leaving only a weak character that wished nothing more but to surrender.

"But what about the damage that I helped cause?" this time she didn't break the bridge to their beings, keeping hers trained steadily on his.

"Wounds eventually heal, Fluff. But if prey and predators can't look past what happened, to try and change how we see one another. Then there's nothing we can do, or should do, they should understand how difficult life is without having to add to it," he spoke darkly, the words he spoke sounded familiar to ones he had said in a dream, one he could scarcely remember.

"But things aren't as bad as you think," her husband shook her a little in his arms, attempting to get her to grin or lighten up a little. "Yeah, so we all still glare at one another, sometimes we don't get along, there's no singing around a campfire where we're all holding paws and hoofs or whatever amphibians and reptiles call their paws, but that's how it's always been," he laughed dryly, which got him a hesitant nod from his mate.

"But the real problem is that you're overanalyzing things like you always do," he kissed the top of her head, finally getting a weak smile from her as she listened intently. "It's not a bad thing that you do, it's helped us solve a lot of cases and put a lot of bad animals behind bars, but you can't do it with this. We can't always fix our mistakes, we sometimes have to leave them be. You've tried your hardest to fix what you did, I should know. I've been with you for most this crazy ride," he had tried to fight that fight, the quote un quote good fight, but as he had told her when they were on the gondola so many years ago.

 _"I learned two things that day: one, that I was never going to let anyone see that they got to me," the fox's voice full of what could only be described as, crushed._

 _"And…two?" she had asked, hesitantly, not knowing if it was safe to pry when he was vulnerable._

 _"That if the world's only going to see a fox as shifty and untrustworthy, there's no point in being anything_ else _," he spoke softly, his eyes casted down to the streets below them, dark tipped ears pinned back._ Were the words that she could hear so clearly even to this day.

"But sometimes you got to accept things as they are, do better next time. Trust me, I'm the bloody master at mistakes and screwing things over oh so very bad. Don't let this get to you, don't ever let yourself see that it's getting to you, or you'll just tear yourself down."

The elevator slowed down, a semi-loud ringing filled the air as the doors opened, showing beyond them a rather void waiting room that one would find at any high-rise lobby. The tod got up from the base of the elevator with a small grunt of effort, pulling his partner up to her rear-paws as well. He mustn't have felt that she was alright yet, so he kept an arm around her shoulders to keep her close.

"Well now that we're here, let's go get some lunch," he suggested leading them out of the metal cage as the doors closed just nearly catching the fur of his tail. "I'll buy, but you choose where we eat, sound good?"

"Yeah," she sighed.

The rabbit leaned some of her weight against her partner, the two of them walking out of the building, which was connected to the out of sight roof of the alternative city. A minute or two passed them by as the fox guided them through the busy city, doing his best to avoid getting them trampled on, or hit by the numerous trams that filled the streets, no signs of regular vehicles in sight. It was quite alien being beneath the surface for the tod, even though he had been born in Zootopia, living in the Nocturnal District till he ran away from home. Much like the other districts it was a mixture of an artificial and natural environment.

The artificial was a large dome that covered entire expanse of the district, covering even the high-rises, the largest only being thirty-five floors. During the day the environment remained dim, the dome only allowed so much light to come through, resembling a thick canopy where most nocturnal animals inhabited. At night the glass cooled, letting the night sky come through as clearly as though the roof wasn't present. It rained but never naturally, it was similar to Rainforest districts environment, drawing water from the large lake that surrounded the city. But instead of meeting rivers to run off back into the lake eventually it went through a system of purifier and filters to clean the water before it met back up with the lake.

This though, Judy could clearly see that it bothered him a littler, noticing how his eyes would dart up to where the sky should be. All that met his emeralds beyond a certain point to the towers was darkness, his eyes requiring some amount of light. There was plenty of it in the streets and coming from the shops, stores and eateries, but the towers were strangely avoid of any light, not even at the first floor. The buildings themselves had no windows either, or doors. Nick opened his mouth a little, cocking his head in that cute way that canines did.

"Urmmmm, Carrots, how do you…well, this is screwy," he mumbled, as they had stopped on a sidewalk, waiting as the trams crossed.

"Is it the pillars?"

"Is that what these guys call their high-rises and skyscrapers, then yeah?

"They're not buildings Slick," she chuckled as he whipped his face around to face her. "They're pillars and supportive columns, there's not one that isn't six hundred meters away from the others."

"Why do you need them, exactly?"

"They support the ceiling, they were actually the first part of the city done, or it would have been buried from the ceiling trying to hold up itself and Bunnyburrow above it."

"Impressive but what are those ones then?" he pointed a claw towards a massive pillar in the distance, surround by smaller ones that were a little further apart then they were from the rest.

"That's a pillar and stall, it what takes the most weight," she looked at it as well, even to this day it amazed her how this feat of engineering and architecture was pulled off.

"Why are they look different."

"The pillar and stall have to be left alone. The crews working on them originally started this place as an iron mine, but when then some big business heads got together and decided to build the city instead. Well, you leave them alone because they take the most stress of the ceiling. There's tons of them, but many of them are actually apart of the walls," the rabbit explained as they crossed the street, mixing in with a crowd like they had lived here their entire lives, not drawing third or fourth glances from animals as they passed them.

"I thought you were raised on plant husbandry?" he questioned with a smirk in his voice.

"I have seventeen brothers and sisters who work down here, maintaining the pillars and constantly checking that things hold up down here, you tend to hear a lot about it from them," she explained.

"Are their skyscrapers…roofscrapers I guess you would call them down here?

"Yes, but they're constructed like the ones in normal cities."

"Why not use the pillars?"

"They tried that once but they had….complications when they hollowed the pillars. The three that they created eventually collapsed a few years after they were finished, no one was killed because it took the workers almost a century to get the city to where it is now, the roofscrapers, the high-rises, most of the other buildings came later."

"Right, I forgot. Hollowed material doesn't work well with supporting weight," the tod nodded his head as he mumbled this to himself.

"Wanna guess how far down we are?"

"Urhhh, nine hundred meters from the surface?"

"two-thousand," she laughed as she caught the expression on his muzzle from the corner of her vision.

"Why….let me give this a shot. I'm going to guess that the tallest buildings down here are five hundred meters or so, till the roof at least. Then the rest is to make sure that there's a thick barrier between Bunnyburrow…."

"The Underground spans all the Burrow counties and is connected," she threw in interrupting him.

"Of course it is. If you're going to building something, why not make it something impossible and giant," he shook his head with a little amusement.

"How do we breathe down here, I don't think you can grow stuff down here?"

"The entire Underground is supported by its own community of farmers, and the entire city has vents leading up to the surface," they had stopped outside of a ship, where her husband had his face covered with a paw, drumming his finger slowly against his skull, disbelief written all over his face. "They also have artificial systems that grow and support plants that produce the needed compounds to help us breathe," Judy interrupted him as he opened his mouth, answering the questions she was sure he'd ask. "If you're asking about water there's underground lakes and decent oceans of freshwater, like Zootopia there's a lot of recycling and purifying systems."

"Fffffffffffaaaaaaaa," the officer breathed out loudly.

"Power then? How do you produce power?"

"There's thousands of wind turbines on the wind farms on the surface, they're attached to cables that worm their way down here, and also across the entire Burrows."

"Stop, stop, please. Let's go get something to eat and sit down somewhere, then you can tell me more about this place."

"Sounds good to me, but I'm only telling you want my siblings have told me. If you want I could call a few of them since they'll be on their lunch break soon?" she put forward to which her partner nodded, clearly interested in this.

"I'm not normally interested in these kind of things, but this is definitely a unique place," he sighed, watching a tram go by but his eyes widened as he saw an odd site. "I take it they're the police?" he nodded the tip of his nose at a group of animals who were covered in thick black SWAT gear, an assortment of ballistic weapons and tranq rifles slung across their backs or fronts, most of them wore a facemask, hiding what they looked like.

"Urmmm, yeah, that would be the police, the security forces are blue," she confirmed as the officers walked across the street. Not that she was sure, but she felt as though that a pawful of them were studying them behind their night vision goggles and hidden muzzles.

"Do they often glare at folks?"

"They're goggles have multiple different settings, I read that there's an ex-ray feature that can scan an animal thoroughly from twenty meters away," she murmured, taking her mates arm and leading them to an eatery that she liked that wasn't too far from where they were. The on edge law enforcers would give glares but didn't appreciate getting them back, seeing as they were always on edge. Guns were outlawed unless an animal had a permit, but somehow the thugs and gangs kept getting their hands on them, making it a nightmare from the weekly firefights that would break out.

"Let's not stop to chat with them," Nick stated what she had known since her first few visits down here.

"I hope you're not joking," she chuckled nervously.

"No, I'm not even to ask them directions, they seem to be on a mission and I don't want to get in the way," he confessed.

"Let's keep it that way, so lunch right?"

"Yep, sounds great."

* * *

 **HI: Hey everyone, still alive here, in case any of you were worried or wondering. You weren't were you? Well, urmmmmm you guys are no fun, XD. Either way a few words on united air flight to Australia, which are roughly fourteen hours each. They…Are…Awful…..I….Hope….You…The….Best…..If…You…Decide…..To….Travel….There (case you were wondering, think of Flash the sloth when reading that). It's how your mind feels when the jetlag hits, you're brain reverts to sloth speed while your body functions at usual functions, making things difficult to do, like reading, playing games, writing, writing…..Oh did I mention that this chapter was painful to write. Honestly, with the jetlag I nearly didn't' get the chapter out tonight. But as you're seeing I did. Haven't we all had those great mornings just for a friend or our partner to breakdown on us, making us double take on how could things be like this now after we had such a great time earlier, you know have. We've all had that. Now on to the business shall we?**

 **First things I want to cover is that there seems to be some confusion, and a lot of mixed feelings about this story being M and T. *Sighs, rubbing face with hands with a tired and worn expression* Alright, so let's get to the basics. I do, I honestly do understand the concerns of those of you who have seen this move up to M, most I can imagine are sitting on their seats, waiting with each update till a passionate scene comes. Where I'm feeling like I'm going to be tried and burned, because a lot of you have brought up concerns, about this story falling apart with a scene between Judy and Nick. I truly do understand the concerns, more so than you can imagine. I have been chatting with another Zootopian author by the name of Upplet, writer of When Instinct Falls. The two of us have to come to agreement that many stories on this archive and many others fall apart when a…well better words intimate scene is written, the story often times falling apart as more touchy, grabby sexual stuff comes in and messes with the plot. I know that many of you are worried that this is where this will go if I do. I am reassuring you that the intimate scene or scenes between Judy and Nick will not diver the stories plot, or have any major affect. I myself am hoping that this will further add to show what their relationship is like, how it has grown and how truly close they are. I do understand the concerns and I am reassuring you that if I feel that it takes away or doesn't contribute to the story, I will take it down and make a subcategory for it, or something along those lines. I hope that I have made myself clear.**

 _ **pinheadh78 chapter 16 .**_

 _ **Please don't make this an M story, I've come to really enjoy the way the story and romance between Judy and Nick is being handled as it was in previous chapters. There are so many M and X rated Zootopia stories already; yours doesn't need to be one of them to keep us interested and following its progression.**_

 _ **Perhaps a compromise - spinoff the 'M' and 'high R' rated scenes into separate 'side story' and just fade to black with a reference to the side-story and sub-chapter for those who want the 'M' stuff.**_

 _ **Please write the story you want to write and how you want to write it; don't let the Internet's demands (my own included) box you into something that doesn't fit with how you planned the story to evolve**_

 **I do appreciate the comment, I am glad that you and so many others have become attached to this story. But I will write this the way I want, but to help with your and others concerns I will be giving a lot of warning to when this chapter will hit a passionate scene, so if those who want to skip it can do just that, pretend it's not there even, or I'll do as you suggest and make a substory of the chapter or scene. I do not want this story to fall apart because of a passionate scene, that is the last things I want, trust me on that.**

 _ **CobaltSunfire chapter 16.**_

 _ **Okay, I'm confused.  
I am sooo confused.**_

 _ **When did they come out to the public?**_  
 _ **Last I remember, they had been keeping their relationship a secret, but then recently came out to their families? So, when did they inform the public?**_  
 _ **Did I miss something, or am I just confusing it from something else?**_

 **They never did come out to the public, just want to clear this up. In chapter XIII, Judy's siblings start posting up about their eldest sisters relationship. Because she has so many siblings they start posting things up on multiple social networks, which soon grabbed the attention of the media, who got lots of confirmation, enough so that they brought it up to the public. You may of missed something on this chapter, hope this helps.**

 **Now that this all dealt with it's time for me to sign off, after some quick blow threw comments and information about stuff, never like using that word, or things, it sounds lazy to put in a sentence, but it's something that'll we'll fix late, lol. So In regards to chapter I-III, they have been updated, new content is there, new dialogue, old mistakes fixed, new ones have come** **. Hope you guys go back to see the differences. Next, on regards to M and T, I am in the consideration of changing it back to T till that scene, or Nick drops some literal specieal terms, or F bombs, XD, who knows it could happen. So now to the more fun stuff. This chapter was a blast to write, went through multiple changes, just today. I hope you enjoy it, because after the next two chapters, we're back to Zootopia, literally the city, because this…if I have to explain that it's the story I'm going to facepalm, hahaha.**

 **On that note, I want to comment on this, getting a lot of different reviews and PMs stating that, this story is slow, there's not much going on. Well, I'm going to finally explain this. This story is taking a more realistic reflection of these two with our world mixed in with Zootopia. I enjoy the great conspiracies, and chases, and gun fights, and detective plot mysteries that writers have created with these characters, but that's not going to happen with this story, Distopia coming sometime down the road will take that kind of feel. I am capturing the lives, the stress, the societal problems with Zootopia that I thought should have been in the movie. I love the movie, but I love it so much that I have to pick at things. I like the ideal and the idea of a perfect society, where things work in Utopian way, Zootopia showed that it wasn't but not enough. Interspecies relationships are A-OKAY by comments from the people who worked on the movie, hats off to them. But I can't agree with that, based on how people judge interracial relationship today still, not as bad as they used to be nearly half a century ago, but it's still there. This is what Nick and Judy are going through. If you remember Nick states back with the argument with his mother in chapter IV that things are different now, they're not like they used to be when you were growing up.**

 **With the slowness, honestly as a normal person days go by fast and they go by slow while working, they're suffering what other officers go through on a day to day basis. A lot of stress, drama, conflicting emotions, anger, self-doubt, guilt, hatred, annoyance, blissful moments are things we all live with. That's what I'm capturing, so I'm glad when you say this chapter was a slow read, because that's how some days are, that's why this story is so jam packed of descriptions, metaphors, dialogue and jus those moments when it feels as though you're in the room and the clocks ticking by painfully slow with these characters, I'm capturing the real life aspect of this if Zootopia was in our world. Woah, mouthful, sorry about that.**

 **Now that this wall has probably effectively fired most of your brains we're nearly done. I'd like to suggest to those of you reading and supporting my story to go check out Upplets, whose a cool writer. Not as detailed as mine, but definitely has captured Nick and Judy in a way that rivals my own. Please go give their story a look at. Also to those of you that may be confused of Judy's breakdown in the elevator she's been mentioning it for chapters now, for a while actually. What happened in Zootopia with Bellwether caused a lot of connections and tolerance between predator and prey, four years later it can still be felt. Judy feels responsible because she was used as the main puppet, she was the catalyst that started it. It would be a natural reaction from Judy based on what we saw in the film.**

 **Time to sign off for tonight, This is Reverend Archangel wishing for you guys to have a great summer break, or just time off from school with friends and family wherever you are in the world, be it America, Russia, U.K. India, Africa, Australia, Chine, North or South Korea, to those of you in the back end of nowhere in the world, hope you have a good weekend. Goodnight and I'll catch you in chapter XVIII. Also thanks for the support you guys have given, enjoy this chapter. Again also, if you want another chapter on The Underground because we barely touched it and we might not get any more in the next chapter, just ask and I'll add a bit more to it. Alright folks, goodnight.**


	18. Sinister Matters

**_Chapter XVIII_**

 ** _Sinister Matters_**

 _"Wher-where am I?"_

 _The rabbit officer asked, pushing herself up on her forearms as she found that she was face down. Her neck was stiff as ice, and her head felt particularly light , like she had too much wine to drink. She let out soft groans with the seldom cuss mumbled underneath her breath as she twisted around, her rigid muscles protesting as she tried to get comfortable. Furthermore the left side of her head was starting to throb, chiefly around the temple. Curiously she ran a paw from her jaw up to the side of her face._

 _A sharp gasp escaped her muzzle, forcing her to pull it away as pain shot across from the discovered gash. The doe lifted her paw in front of her to check for blood, only to realize that she couldn't see it. Darting her eyes to the left and to the right she saw nothing, not even a small dot of light, or anything bearing a reflection. Twisting and turning from where she was sat, led her to the same result. Darkness. Empty, cold void. Only for the foreboding curtain of darkness welcomed her._

 _"Hel-hello?" the doe called out, hoping that someone would reply._

 _All that greeted her was silence, her voice showing no signs that it carried, not even the slightest reverberation or echo. This didn't sit all that well with her. It meant that whatever was ahead of her was either narrow, cluttered, padded, or any number of things that stopped sound from bouncing off the walls. Or….or maybe she was outside, but she couldn't even feel the tiniest hint of a breeze. This didn't stop her from glancing up, seeing nothing but black. Black, black, black! It was all she could perceive of her world, just the void space that was the darkened veil, darker even then a funeral dress._

 _If there was one thing that she truly hated, it was being defenseless like this. It was not as if she couldn't handle herself in a fight, no she had proven that many times by taking on predators and prey that greatly outsized her. It wasn't that she couldn't use her keen hearing to catch someone sneaking around her or up on her. It wasn't even the fact that she had to feel and touch her way around while impaired in the absence of lighting, natural or otherwise. What truly unnerved her was that if there was something, or someone in the dark, she couldn't use her eyesight to predict what it was going to do, or what it was. Her hearing would tell her that it had moved, her nose wasn't as sensitive as other mammals, yet it would provide ample information to tell her what the creature was, or to at least tell her how close it was. But not being able to see what lay ahead, behind, or even at the corners of her vision, frightened her._

 _"Is…..is anyone out there?"_

 _The officer called a little louder, this time there was a response, but not in the way she saw coming. Instead, what she heard was the familiar sound of claws clacking against a solid surface. Whatever the floor was made of, the sound came from a ways off, or it could have been very close. It came again a few moments later, this time her ears shot up as she had been waiting for the noise. It stopped abruptly once more, but it had told her enough. It was some distance away. Maybe eighty meters, maybe more. This reassured her, enough that she pushed herself off the ground, finding that it was smooth, and glossy, even a little wet, as though it had rained only a short while ago. She bent over, taking a sniff at the ground experimentally. There was a petrichor aroma about it, it was concrete, but it was fainter, and had a mustier smell, thick with damp and…..something she couldn't quite put her finger on._

 _Whatever it was, it reminded her of…a sewer, maybe a service tunnel, or the abandoned metro tunnels under Zootopia. She only had knowledge of this from the few times she had gone down to the underground lines. The time with her partner when they were searching for the animals who were stealing Nighthowlers. Then There were the few times that she had been sent down to assist in finding an animal who had foolishly gotten themselves lost in their illegal explorations. If her assumptions were correct and she was under the surface in the tunnels, why was she here? Shaking this off she called out again, this time louder._

 _"If there's someone out there, this is Officer…."_

 _There was a piercing clang and a bang from somewhere in front of her, but still a ways off. This didn't stop from her fur sticking up on edge and making her nearly jump out of it. The clacking of the claws had stopped entirely after that, and she heard a faint sound, almost like whoever it was growled, but not in the way that animals usually did. This one disturbed her. The doe opened her mouth, to call out again but thought better of it, closing it quietly, having no desire to make anymore sound. There was a pulling feeling at the pit of her stomach, giving her the inkling that there was definitely something more unsettling about this then waking up here._

 _Considering that she could feel the heavy padded vest covering her chest, she reached for her utility belt. Only to feel her waist line, nothing else but the durable material of her work jeans. The rabbit patted across her body, finding nothing, not even the clip on radio on her shoulder. All of it was gone, everything that could have helped her to piece together where she was, and what was going on, gone. Taking a knee she silently patted around the area she had woken up, coming up empty till her paw landed on something flat and plastic. Taking a hold of it, she realized from the familiar shape and feel of it that it was her cell-phone. Her thumb settled on the power button, but she stopped herself._

 _The brightness of the screen alone would expose her, and whatever had been making those noises would unquestionably spot her, unless she was behind a wall or a bend in…wherever she was. If the phone was off and she had to power it up, she might have left the sound on so the startup tone would give her away as well. What's more, this rabbit had no wish of inviting whatever had been making the sound over. Then again, if her phone possibly had connection she could call the station, risk using her flash light, or if it hadn't been damaged, using the camera to help her uncover where she was._

 _'Come one, which is it going to be, Carrots. The pros and cons are all pretty bad from where we're at.' The lone officer imagined her mate's voice speaking for her thoughts, something she often did to try and stay calm in stressful situations without him._

 _'Look, we got a phone, sure light might not work, the service may not work, the battery could be dead. The screens not shattered, we go that going for us. So what's the worst…well there's obviously someone down here with us being such a great conversationalist, aren't we buddy?' Even in this horrible situation, she could see him calling out to the unknown character out there._

 _'Cons, well that's pretty simple. Could attract our lovely friend to come say hello to us. He could be armed, or have gone completely loopy from being down here. We might find out that we're actually surrounded by a horde of zombie…don't give me that look, it could happen. But the worst is that you can't see in the dark, you dumb little bunny.'_

 _Either way she couldn't stay here kneeled in the dark and hope for someone to come find her. If she truly was in the tunnels it could be days, or weeks before someone found her. Whatever it was in the dark would definitely find her before then if she stayed put. If she was in the tunnels, she needed to find the stairwells that led up to the surface, or a service tunnel, a ladders, or whatever. But she couldn't do it in the dark, especially with how her mind was playing tricks on her. Even without the faint clacking of claws, she was hearing things, such as very eerie whispering and things even further in the tunnel, almost like moaning. No, she had made her choice._

 _Pressing on the power button the screen lit up, and she found that there was a crack in the screen that she had missed when running her thumb over it. There was no signal, none at all. She changed to her camera seeing that she couldn't afford to use any more light. When she was scrolling through the settings and different options she gave glances over her shoulder, finding the little amount of light coming from the screen was helping her vision to peer deeper into the dark, maybe five to ten meters. What she found was that she was on a platform, which meant that there had to be stairs somewhere nearby leading up to the streets, unless they had been locked up. But then again, she was small enough to slip through the bars._

 _With a little air punch, some relief washed over her as she found the night vision setting, activating it and giving her a better look around. Directing the camera to face forward, her eyes started to roam what she could see from the fuzzy images. What started making her heart pound was that there wasn't a wall between her and where the clacking noises had come from. Directly in front of her there were some archways and pillars in the center of the platform, but that was it, till it stopped. What worried her was that she hadn't spotted what had been making the noises earlier. This could be a good thing, maybe it had gone off somewhere, there was also the fact that whatever she had heard was actually further away._

 _'Okay, so the end of this platform is in front of us…..which means that our means of escape from this hell is behind us.' Her husband's voice spoke soothingly, even if he wasn't physically here it was better than nothing._

 _Before Judy could rise from her kneeling position, her eyes caught movement from the screen, something had come out from behind one of the pillars directly ahead. Her breath caught in her throat, her heart started to hammer in growing panic. Narrowing her eyes to concentrate, the doe saw that the animal was on all fours, padding around and sniffing the ground. Frequently casting it's head around its surroundings sniffing the stale air. It's muzzle was narrow, it's ears were pointed and from doing so many courses of identifying animals at the academy she could tell it was a predator. One that was less than thirty meters away from her, one that seemingly was acting savage, or had gone back to moving about in its primal ways. Fortunately it hadn't caught on to her scent as of yet, or it had and was making a game out of this._

 _Either way, there was nothing she could do, if she moved there was no doubt in her mind that its keen ears would catch the sound. What it would do was a question that she didn't want answered. There was always the chance that whoever this was just wanted to have some alone time, it wasn't unheard of to see animals walking on all fours. Nick even did it when he was too lazy to stand up on his hind-paws, or was being playful with her…seldomly they were doing some strange roll playing. None of that mattered, it had nothing to do with how dire of a situation she was in right now. No way to call for help, all her gear was gone, and she only had a phone for a source of sight and light._

 _The phone went to sleep as the five minute setting activated making her eyes widen in horror, as she sucked in a breath, a bit too loudly. Her ears perked up as she heard the clacking stop, and the predators sniffing became louder, more focused on finding what had made the noise. She couldn't bother with the phone anymore, she'd have to make a mad dash up to the stairs somewhere behind her, and hope that the entrance hadn't been boarded up from the outside._

 _Before she could spring into action she heard the predator give a low growl, either it had seen her, smelled her, or just heard her it didn't matter anymore. As she shot up from her kneeling position she dashed where her back was facing only moments ago, the predator's claws making harsh scratching sounds as it gave chase. It mattered little as it was now in hot pursuit. The officer's paws carried her as fast as they could, when she realized that it was pointless, she was blind, no inclination as to where she was headed. There could be a wall, pieces of debris, a ledge, or even a section of the floor that caved in to a level below, all of these could simply be a meter or two in front of her, she'd only know when it was too late._

 _This was quickly discovered as her right paw collided with a brick, causing her to stumble and fall. The rabbit let herself roll just so she could land stretched out, her one fore and hind-paws holding her up as she got back upright, dashing away from where she had tumbled. It wasn't a moment later that she heard the predator land where she had fallen, having been in mid pounce, snarling and growling as it did. The rabbit didn't know where she was now, having lost her bearings from her trip up. She could be in the middle of the platform, or near one of the edges, or could be right on the verge of running into the other mammal if it had decided to flank her._

 _Again she headed off, this time in a random direction, if only to keep herself alive and as far away from the insane animal as possible. As she did an idea suddenly popped up, under other circumstances she would have face-palmed or slammed herself for being so stupid. She'd been too occupied with running for her life, and frightened out of her poor mind. Her phone was still clenched tightly in her right paw, so as she continued to run she was able to get the flash light on, aiming the weak light ahead of her so she could find her bearings. When her eyes landed on a flight of steps that led up to the surface above, her heart roared with renewed energy._

 _It did little to get her a step further as the predator's jaws clamped shut around her left hind-paw, the fangs causing a sickening crunch, tearing through flesh and fur alike as though it was tissue paper. Blood washed over her tongue as the shrill scream that had escaped her, had torn her throat. She fell forward, slamming harshly on her elbows, but the pain didn't register as the predator dragged her back. Her muzzle met the floor a moment later, pain shooting through her nose for a split second before bolts of excruciating agony came from her caught leg. The crazed animal shook her from side to side, to maim her so she couldn't get away. It succeeded as the air was filled with a sharp crack making her ears ring from how loud she screamed, even through her raw throat. Her survival instincts decided then to kick in at that second. With her free leg, she gave a powerful kick to her attacker's nose, getting a sickening crunch from the forceful impact._

 _A high pitched shriek of anguish came from it, freeing her from its now bloody maw. The doe scooted as much distance between her and the predator as she could with the state she was in. Her eyes focused on the morbid site of the creature writhing on the ground. This was all thanks to her phone landing screen first, it's faint, white light being casted upwards to the ceiling, illuminating the small area they were in. Her mind didn't quite care what animal it was, but it was a red-fox, it's muzzle a darker crimson then it's fur, all thanks to mutilating her leg and foot._

 _The downed officer continued to scoot herself away, tears flowing from her eyes as unfathomable bouts of pain shot up her entire being, the like of which she had never felt. Her heart was hammering, a knot had formed in her throat, making her breathing even harder for her as she still caught to catch her breath. Her ears were laid back, completely droopy against the back of her head, nose twitching rapidly in absolute dread and dismay. Her amethyst eyes were focused on the monster across from her, who was three meters away from her now, a trail of crimson covering the damp floor of the platform from where she had dragged herself._

 _The predator stopped writhing when she got a little more distance between herself and it. Unlike her it had fought through the pain, but instead of running away like a savage animal would when hurt, it instead approached her. If it was a movie she'd say it stalked toward her slowly, each padded step precise and calculated, advancing upon her with every intent of making her pay. It's…it was a him, the shape of his muzzle and body screamed male. Nevertheless his hackles were drawn back, baring his ivory white fangs, growling and opening his jaws, snapping them together as he steadily broke the little distance between them._

 _"Please…..sto-stop…I ju-ju-jus…I just want t-to g-g-g-g-g-go home," her voice was shaky as she whimpered, she couldn't even tell why she was begging. It wouldn't matter as it only growled louder at her, it's emerald eyes flashing dangerously in the light._

 _"No….no…Ni….Nicholas?" she sniveled, having now just realized the fox was in a ZPD uniform, or what was left of one. The utility belt was missing, the right sleeve to his shirt was torn and bloody, an obvious diagonal slash across his forearm. His uniform jeans had multiple tears in them, his work shirt was all gashed up, like he had been trying to get the clothes off, or had gotten in a fight with a weed whacker. Somehow he had managed to get his tie off._

 _The vulpine just growled threateningly at her in response. The doe rabbit saw that his name tag was still pinned to the right side of his uniform, confirming to her that it was him._

 _"Nicholas…..please…..it's me…it's Judith," she whimpered, her tears falling twice as hard, it was enough that he had attacked her, was trying to kill her, that she was writhing in complete agony as she pushed herself away. But to see that her partner had lost his mind, seeing him so distorted and feral hurt even worse. The gap between them disappeared as he crawled over her smaller body, his crimson painted muzzle being brought so close to hers._

 _"Plea…..please…..Nicholas…..Sweetheart…..it's me…it's Judith," she pleaded even harder, sobbing as she realized that he was going to kill her or hurt her again. Maybe he wasn't hungry, maybe he was just attacking because he was afraid, and scared. His snarling stopped as he sniffed her curiously, his hackles lowering to some extent, his ears perking up a little as well as he sniffed more vigorously, making the doe whimper as she begun to panic._

 _Instead of trying to talk to him again, she snapped her eyes shut tightly, forcing herself to look away, not wanting to look into his eyes when he eventually went for her throat. It came without warning making her let out a scream that was soon silenced…._

A pair of emerald orbs wearily revealed themselves to the bedroom they had become accustomed to, all the while his thoughts were fresh from what had just transpired. He blinked slowly, trying his hardest to come to grips with what had just transpired only moments prior.

 _What have I done to deserve this?_ The predator thought to himself, as he remembered his jaws closing on his mate's throat. _Isn't it enough that everyone's acting so stupid about us being together…now you got to start playing up with shit like this._ He accused his mind angrily, tired of having it fabricate such sickeningly cruel dreams.

With a heavy sigh, he rolled onto his back where he promptly stared up at the ceiling. The dream replayed before his eyes in particular moments, broken into images, all of which he saw as if they were as sincere and tangible as the sheets that he was buried beneath. Again and again he could feel and see his jaws closing inanimally around his wife's throat. He swore he could taste blood on his tongue, his fangs felt satisfied, as if he had bit down on something hard enough to release a bothersome kind of pressure. Seeing nothing else for it the male picked his head up and slammed the back of it against the pillow, doing this a few times to rid himself of these thoughts. A few minutes passed after he had stopped, his mind wondering as he considered if this was any more real than the nightmare.

The fox's eyes begun to roam around the room, nothing that he saw helped him identify if any of this was real or not. The cool breeze from the fan didn't even tell him all that much, as he had a pawful of dreams where his senses had been as active as if he had been awake. Blinking his eyes tiredly, he gave out a relieved sigh as he felt that the room had cooled a considerable degree than it had been earlier. The day could only be described as baking hot from how dry the soil had become. Unfortunately he had spent a majority of it outside with his mate and her family as that was where the reunion was taking place. Bringing a paw up to his forehead, he wiped away a thin layer of sweat, which he rubbed into the bedding. This reeled his mind back to why he had woke up in the first place, seeing that it was too cool to be sweating like this naturally.

What concerned the reynard the most though, was the approach his mind had taken to maliciously torture him. The way it had shown the dream when he held no control of his actions, attacking his mate that he held so close to his heart with such ferocity and untamed violence. It made him cringe as he lay there, making him run a paw over his muzzle. He hated the way it felt satisfied from the almost life like sensations it had taken a part of. The only reassurance was that his partner was to his side, sleeping peacefully, her breathing was slow and healthy, her left hind paw occasionally kicked and twitched no signs that he had nearly torn it off.

It wasn't the first time that he had a nightmare similar to this, having had them come on and off for a few years now. Yet they had been coming to him every other night for the last fortnight or so. Never the same dream, but all had one similar underlying trait, he wasn't in control of himself. In each one he had hurt someone that he loved or cared about. First and foremost it had been his mate who had been on the receiving end of these fabricated episodes, each time was worse than the last, most nights it depraved him of sleep. How could he even have the notion to dare to fall back to sleep, when these dreadful delusions were making prey out of him? Seemingly waiting around the corner so they could pounce upon him, driving their sinister talons full of such revolting and horrific scenes into his mind's eyes.

The fox was a little reassured, knowing that these nightmares were nothing more than that, his minds feeble attempts to drive him insane. His imagination doing no more than forcing him to go on a wild journey. This didn't quite quell his fears, as he couldn't make heads or tails of why he was having them. Some animals believed that dreams and nightmares alike held minute shards of truth in them, glimpses into what was to come. The majority believed they were nothing more than what their minds did when they were asleep, told that their brains were more active than they were when awake. Then there were the odd few that suggested that they were keys to the soul, showing animals who they were, what they were, speaking truths that they themselves denied.

Nick wasn't one to believe in the groundless and illogical fears that most animals fell for, being a levelheaded kind of fox. This….this was different, whatever this was, it was effecting him mentally, or it could be because he wasn't getting the rest he needed in the wake of them. A part from that, after these dreams he'd often feel guilt, remorse, or even sorrow. Tonight he felt, nothing. Just this overwhelming feeling of numbness, possibly because he was exhausted of having them, or simply because there was no point groveling about it. It wasn't real, it hadn't happened, everything was fine. Nevertheless, his mate knew something was up, but she hadn't brought it up vocally as of yet.

Although, he had caught her lovely amethyst hues studying him with evident concern, noticing this from the corner of his emeralds. This didn't annoy him in the slightest, he did exactly the same thing with her; a mutual agreement that they had struck sometime ago without having to discuss it. Their lives were stressful as officers, the daily risks, the somewhat boring and habitual routine, the chaos of working in a busy city, the insanity with having to keep it under control, dealing with criminals who believed that they had done no wrong, sometime's it got to them. As such they kept an eye out for the other, to insure that if things weren't well, they'd settle it before it got out of paw. So there really was nothing to complain about with getting even more attention from his wife.

Speak of his favorite bunny, he felt the space next to him shake as she stirred, only to snuggle closer into his side, nuzzling her muzzle into his shoulder as she got comfortable. The tod smiled as he heard his partner let out slow, calm, breaths through her cute pink nose. He turned his head towards her, seeing that she was out cold if the peaceful expression on her face was anything to go by. With a soft chuckle he rolled back onto his side to face her, considering that she was breathing on his upper arm, making the fur become clammy. It didn't bother him all that much, it was a small price to pay to be cuddled up together beneath the sheets.

"You're just too cudroable," the predator breathed to his wife as he kissed her forehead. He was rewarded with a small smile and her purring becoming just a tad bit louder.

It was already going to be a long enough of a day, considering that her family reunion had started yesterday around noon and that the reunions lasted two days. Such as things were, he decided that it would be best to try and get at least a few more hours of sleep in, or he'd be out around fifteen-hundred. With the prospect of slumbering off for another forty-winks in this soft comfortable bed he closed his eyes. That was after he encircled his mate in his arms, pulling her against him, her head instinctively nuzzling itself up to the underside of his muzzle. The moment his fangs closed on her throat flashed before his eyes, making him tighten his hold around her, reassuring himself that she was still there with him. His doe purred happily, giving his throat a benign kiss, her smaller arms wrapping themselves around his middle.

The fox had learned from an early start from when they had started to share a bed….as a couple at least. Was that she loved being held in his arms when she was asleep. There was the rare occasion when she'd push away from him entirely and was sleeping with her back to him. This was generally when she wasn't feeling herself more often than not due to something upsetting her, such as a bad day at work, a family member had died(nineteen had since he had met her), or she was just in an iffy kind of mood. He understood and respected her space, if she wanted to be left alone he gave her just that, but he always laid close enough to her so she knew that he was there for her, and vice versa. Unlike himself though, she didn't cling onto him, refusing to let him go when they were in bed. It had never sparked an argument between them, or made her uncomfortable as of yet as he usually let go when she got serious.

With regards to some of his previous mates, well that had sparked a number of arguments and him getting scolded. Two of the vixens he had been with weren't exactly the ones to cuddle when asleep, the only times were after they had mated, other than that they didn't want him holding them. The others were on and off with the nights they had allowed cuddling, but it hadn't made any difference in their relationships, if it wasn't obvious. Thinking about this put a sour taste on his velvety tongue so he pushed them away, letting his mind go quiet as he was trying to doze off.

 _No one's quite like you, right Cottontail?_ The male thought as he stroked his partners ears, who tried to shuffle even closer to him.

"Nick," it was little more than a sigh, but his ears caught it. Not knowing if she was awake, or if she was just sleep talking, he waited.

"A….are yo-you still aw-awake?" the doe murmured, pulling her ahead away from the underside of his, looking up into where she thought his eyes were with tired ones.

"Yeah," he took his paw from her ears to her to stroke the side of her muzzle with a thumb. "Go back to sleep," he suggested.

"No….not till you tell me what's up?" grumbled the rabbit stubbornly, but her eyelids said differently as she struggled to keep them from closing.

"Judith, please go back to bed," her eyes widened a tad, not used to hearing such desperation in his voice.

"Is this about what Jack said earlier?"

"No….I….maybe," he relented.

In all honestly it could have been from what that little pest had said, or it could just be that seeing him again, brought all the emotions back from the first time they met. He had always had these instinctual urges of bloodlust when he was pushed over the edge, usually when an animal was insulting his mate, or when his mother was brought into it. The tuxedo-wearing-little-creep as the predator referred to their little _friend_ as, had struck a nerve when he had been discreetly insulting Judy when throwing his offending remarks at him a few nights ago and earlier that day. Never in his entire life could he remember a moment when he was so close to losing control and just letting his basic nature take a hold of him. If Judy hadn't stopped him, or Tristen hadn't have gotten involved, he could only imagine what he would have done.

"What's getting you all tensed up of late?" his eyes returned down to hers as they had been settled on the alarm clock on her bedside cabinet, noticing it was coming up for zero-three-hundred.

"Trust me on this, Fluff-Butt, you don't want to know," the vulpine grumbled. There was no way on earth he coul…. no, he wouldn't tell her about his latest dream. He had never killed her, only maimed or hurt her in previous ones like this, but never had he done that.

"I…I just want to help."

"You always want to help, I can't imagine how much of a better world we'd live in if it let you help," his paw ran down from her cheek to her breast, placing it over her heart. "Really, just leave my messed up dream to me alright," he breathed.

"Remember what I said if you hide things from me?"

"Uhhhhhh, let's say that I don't," the tod groaned.

"Well, you agreed to do my laundry and do the dishes for now on."

"Doesn't sound too bad, means I can get into your pants more often," he snickered, biting the tip of his tongue as his ears laid back, muzzle scrunching him in amusement.

"Are you being serious?" she chuckled.

"A little, but I really don't want to get stuck with that. So what do I get if I let you in on it, officer?"

"Well, you get my trust, my respect, and everything that's just me," she cooed sweetly.

"That entails what, Fluff? I already know that you love me, so what else do I get?" he teased, plucking her soft-fluffy tail.

"That's not on the table for debate, Slick."

"You're not letting this go are you?"

"Nope, you've been acting different, I don't like brooding, leave me alone Mr. Serious Wilde," she said with a hint of frustration.

"If that's how you feel then I guess I don't have much choice….you'll just get it out of me later, you dirty, dirty little bunny."

"Hmmmm, well, it's nice to know you care so much, but please Mr. Wilde, tell me what you know, and I'll tell you what I know," this sounded oddly familiar to something he had said.

"Right," he drawled skeptically, not really up to having this discussion with her. "I've read that couples in interspecies relationships have nightmares, it's usually the predators. I….I guess I'm just scared tha…..that I could possibly hurt you, without knowing it. Y….you've….we've seen animals go nuts," he chuckled dryly, remembering the panther a few months ago, who would have killed her if he hadn't tranquilized it.

"Why are you worried so much about this? You've never lost control, you've never hurt me…..except when you slip up in the takedowns," her own paw was mirroring his, her eyes looking into his, even if she couldn't see.

"I don't know," he sighed before he added. "I've never wanted to attack an animal as much as your ex, what he was saying to you, about us," he shook his head, biting the inside of his bottom lip, ears lowering back as he thought. "I had this dark urge to pounce on him, you were the only thing holding me back…both times," he looked down at her, seeing that her eyes were looking down, her muzzle scrunched up in that unique way it did when she was thinking, her little pink nose twitching in that cute way it did.

"We all have triggers Nick," she said slowly, softly, each word weighed heavily. "I have mine, I don't like being called cute, adorable, or thought of being less because I'm a rabbit, or being treated like property," he had found that out at an early stage when he had called her babe, that was when they were friends though.

"I hate it when animals insult you because you're a fox, or any animal based on what we are," he nodded, remembering times she had stood up for him, such as the ice cream parlor when they had first met.

"But these kind of feelings don't make us bad," she rubbed the place over his heart with a padless paw, lovingly. "If we weren't cops, and we were back to when my great or my great great grandfather or mother was alive, it wouldn't be looked down upon if you put my ex in his place," she sighed, knowing how he felt. There were many things they could do as officers with the law on their side, just as equally though it restricted them from doing certain things.

"I wouldn't be happy with you if you attacked him," he hummed softly, looking down away from her momentarily. "Only if he started it and you were defending yourself," she let out her own sigh, a tired look in her eyes from what he could tell with the lack of lighting. Things weren't clear as day for him with his night vision, everything just stood out in shades of gray.

"I don't think he's going to learn from that fine I gave him…..I hope he tore it up so he can get charged up on something worse. I'm not surprised you hate him," her voice having gone sour as she continued to talk about her previous love interest.

Though it had been hours since they had their little run in with the buck, she was still in a foul mood. The Savage family had been invited by her parents, as they were close friends. Her folks had tried to settle things with her ex and his family, trying to convince them not to let their eldest son come, but that had offended them a little. They had come to a compromise, though. If Jack misbehaved then he would be uninvited to all future events between their families, which he had after today's little scene that he had created. Though neither of them had made it any better with what they said either, especially Nick who had come up with some clever on the spot insults.

"I don't mind feeling pissed off," he joked, scratching the itchy spot behind her right ear, having moved his paw to the back of her head. "It's something my grandfather taught me, much to my mother's annoyance," the tod took on a much more mature and older voice, doing his best to replicate his relatives voice. 'Nicky, you're a fox, a predator too. The last thing you want to do is get into a fight with them damn munchers. So I'm gonna teach you how to growl and bare those little fangs of yours…' When I do that, I have to reach into myself, it's comes naturally but it doesn't feel right using it."

"But that's not a bad part of you, it's just something you do when you're protecting yourself," she tried to reassure him, her smaller paw clumsily found its way to his muzzle, cupping it the best she could. He didn't reply right away, but he gave a little nod of the head, otherwise remained unmoving and silent.

The doe could count the times he had growled like this on a single paw since she had met him. They were usually when animals were harassing him, chucking specieist remarks, or when they intruded in on his personal space. Charges could be brought up for predators baring their fangs to other predators or prey. Often than not no one called in to report it if it wasn't all that serious. Generally it was due to the reason that it was mainly a defensive reaction, normally to warn other animals to leave them alone. If it got physical, then they'd usually be called.

Judy hadn't once reprimanded her husband for these slip ups, but had he really been in the wrong when he had? Every that he had with he around, it was defensive, but then again it was similar to waving a knife or gun at someone. There was a fine line where she did not dare to tread with her mate, even though the law told her otherwise. She had given him parking fines, tickets, and warnings when he messed up, she did the same for herself, not exempting them from the law just because they were officers. To fine him for growling and baring his fangs at an animal to get them to back off, the reactions he could give were numerous.

From an early age she knew that the law was as gray as her fur, not the black and white that it was often speculated to be, or how some of the older text books got it across. Everything with the law was gray, the death penalty was especially difficult to work out. Unlike her mate who believed in the eye for an eye, life for a life reaction to killings and murder, she couldn't bring herself to it. They did deserve to be punished, death was fitting, but her mind would always put one thing into consideration. What about the animals family and friends, they'd miss them and would have to go through what the other family or families would be going through. Was that truly justice or just making others share the same pain so as to create equality?

If that was the case then why did predators have more laws to follow then prey, was it simply because they were deemed by their natural make to be dangerous. It was something she had once asked her Drill Sergeant when they were nearing the end of their training. Apparently it was simply because the law was still trying to catch up to modern day, it didn't help that the ones who amended and made laws were all in their mid-fifties beyond. It wasn't her place to argue, she simply followed out what her training taught her, and did what her superiors told her to do. Similar to the military she did as she was ordered, and would give her opinion only if it was asked for and even then she had to be careful of what she said. It was up to those above her station to ask the questions; such as if what they did was in the right or wrong, and if so how to justify the means to the end.

"As much as you and I want to believe that, Carrots, that just isn't the truth," he stroked the scruff of her neck as he paused, listening to her soft purrs. "The good, the bad, the devilishly handsome, it's all a part of me. I know I'm not a monster, but it doesn't mean I can't I can't hurt you. That suit wearing buddy of ours was right about that, I'm a predator, if that wasn't obvious. enough," he snorted back a laugh. "I can hurt you Judy, you're stronger than me, your faster, and as we've found out, a lot more flexible then you look," she grabbed onto his shoulder, giving him a playful kick in the stomach with her legs, getting a loud oofff out of him.

"…Worth it," the reynard breathed out with a groan, he a few minutes passed as he regained his breath, arms tightly fastened around his mate so she couldn't get away. He'd think of a punishment for her later. "But thing is, if I lose my mind, I won't be able to control myself, I could potentially hurt or kill you. Predators can't go savage, science has proven that. But we can go insane and feral, we can go into bloodlusts and violent rages, remember Jun 3rd," he watched as she closed her eyes tightly, before she let out a heavy breath, before nodding.

"That was…I never knew that animals could be so sadistic…there was so much blood," she commented despondently.

"I've seen a few of them, even before I met you. But yeah, it was bad," he brushed the fur of her back soothingly, having snuck a paw beneath her shirt. "I don't want that to happen, but if I had gone for your ex, I could have possibly turned on you, when you'd undoubtedly intervened, because you're always getting yourself into trouble," he pressed his nose against hers.

"You worry too much, Slick," she smiled from the contact between their noses, pressing hers back against his.

"One of us has to do it. You're always rushing into things, honestly if you get shot and survive, I'm never letting you leave my side," he shook his head in amusement.

"Going to tell me about that nightmare?" she shot in, having hoped to trick him into answering without thinking.

"Really, you're going to have to do better than that," he said softly, feeling a bit of irritation about the underhandedness of her approach.

"I've been up for a while," she brushed a thumb over his jaw line, still staring into the darkness, even though her pupils had enlarged to take it as little light as possible.

"Here I thought you were asleep and dreaming about me."

"I was till you rolled onto the other side of the bed," she shot back. "You were whimpering, and groaning out my name."

"Carrots, this isn't up…"

"Just tell me. Why are you being so difficul…."

"I killed you Judith, alright?" he finally sighed, making her muzzle snap shut, her eyes widening a little, ears lowering and her nose twitching as she looked at him questioningly.

"I killed you, I couldn't control myself. You were in the dark, I had gone savage and I….." he shook his head, images of her crawling away, a trial of blood being left my her mutilated leg, the look of agony in her tear stained eyes. How vulnerable she looked and sounded as she whimpered to him, trying to make him come back to her.

"Nicholas, it was just a dream," she wrapped her arms around the back of his head and neck, persuading him to rest it against her breast, where he could listen to her heartbeat.

"I figured that out, thanks," he mumbled, closing his eyes as his partner held him.

"I'm still here though, you still have me," his right ear twitched as he felt her press her lips against the root of his muzzle. "I'm not going anywhere if I can help it."

"You're always there for me, it's actually quite difficult to get a moment to myself," the predator chuckled, getting a soft laugh from her, making his mood lighten from the melodic sound.

"Hmmmm, you're confused, Brush," he felt her smile into the fur of his head, nuzzling him affectionately. "You're always such a thorn in my side."

"Yeah," he yawned tiredly, his eyes starting to droop.

"Sleep, it's going to be okay," she cooed into his ears, as they had laid back for sleep.

"Mmmmm," he hummed, cuddling further into her breast in attempt to get closer to the calming sound that originated from her heart.

"That's it," she felt his arms encircle her, pulling himself closer to her. She grinned to herself as he had dozed off, it wasn't often that it was her partner who was cuddled into her chest. It just made it that more special.

"Sweet dreams, Nicholas," she closed her own eyes, letting out a long, content breath through her nose.

Judy was looking forward to going back to Zootopia, back to their apartment and friends at the ZPD, to the day to day routine of law enforcement, to dealing with the disorder that would unquestionably be waiting for them. As much as she loved being home with her family and friends, she had grown used to being away from home, having made a life for herself now. It wasn't great, because nothing in life was perfect or fair, something that she had come to accept as she grew up. Yet she was content with everything she had, life was great, to her. A loving husband-mate-partner-friend, so many titles for him, definitely a better apartment then she had, the job she had dreamed of having since she was so little. The one matter that had her on edge was the fact that they had a lot of answering to do, be it Chief Bogo, the media, and all cities uproar over the faces of the ZPD being a married couple, interspecies no less. Come what may, they'd get through it, together, as they had always done since their first case. With these reassuring thoughts on her mind, the doe's amethyst spheres gradually hid themselves behind her heavy lids, once again joining her partner in sleep.

* * *

 **HI: Hello lady and gentlemen, it's me. Did you all miss me? Of course you guys did, because I missed you, XD. So wow, this week slugged on, I mean god, how long did it feel to me. Feels like I haven't updated in three weeks to be honest with you guys! I mean it, it felt like it took forever to get this chapter out, but as I always do when things go smoothly, here's another chapter for you posted at the regular time. You lucky, lucky, lucky readers and writers you, lol. Honestly I hope you enjoy, please leave a comment or send me PM with your thoughts, or if you noticed there's a mistake. Also, holy cheese n'crackers that got pretty dark didn't it for a while. Poor Nick, I'm not meaning to put him through so much torture, but it does make sense. He's not a guy who seems to go into a rage, more of subtle, calm, fury of sorts. But as he has expressed earlier in the story, he felt guilty about scaring her like that, and he wasn't exactly thinking when he snapped at her in the movie, according to this story. But wow, that entire nightmare scene was difficult to do, so please tell me if I pulled it off.**

 **Carrying on. So you guys are lucky, I'm lucky to have gotten this chapter out at all. Seriously this chapter went through several rewrites. Was going to do more on The Underground, the family reunion, have Jack Savage come back into play, have news crews swarm Nick and Judy, even a part where our favorite law enforcement couple get caught in the middle of a sticky situation between The Underground Police and a scrap between two rival gangs. Seriously, a lot of different rewrites. So why did I go with this. Well, I liked the concept, and I have to admit that it's one of my favorites, but I like all my chapters individually because of what they bring to the table. It's also returning back to Nicks prospective for a little bit. Don't expect any pattern, It could be either of the protagonists at random, some chapters may even be split down the middle.**

 **The reason to this chapter will be further explained throughout further chapters in thoughts, comments made by the characters and also in flash backs. So to clear this up for everyone, this was in the early morning after the first day of the Hopps' annual family reunion. The Savage family is invited because the two families go way back together, both work together and help each other out with the competition between the other farming families. Jack showed up, and was practically ordered by his father to behave. He tried talking to Judy again, trying to persuade her to come back to him, to give him another chance. After getting shot down numerous times, Nick intervened and told him to stop harassing her. Another argument between the three of them broke out, and Jack threw some specieal remarks at Nick, also said something that wounded him deeply (honestly, the saying, sticks and stones can break my bones, but you're words will never affect me is a bunch of melon cakes. Seriously, words affect us more emotionally than anything else, just have to find the right buttons.) As I mentioned above, why Nick reacted the way he did to it with this pretty messed up dream will come later.**

 **Also this story is staying to M. Don't worry, I will warn most of you if there is an intimate scene between Nick and Judy, if one ever comes. This story is sticking to M because of these reasons. Drug Use, Profanity, Adult themes, Sexual References and Themes, Violence, Alcohol Use, Darker Themes not fit for Children, no life boats, no exits…haha! What, thought I was going to be completely serious about this, nahhhh. So that's why, also gives me more freedom then T does. M literally means I can be flexible. But please, if you have friends who are interested in fanfiction, especially Zootopia, pass my stories link to them if you want.**

 **That's about it on this end guys. Hope you've all been doing well, hope that none of you have been affected by the latest shooting. If you have, my greatest sympathies, I know what it's like to lose friends and family like that. Not exactly, but I understand that it feels like they've been stolen from us. Again, my most heartfelt sympathies. With that serious note, I'll leave us off with this. Chapter Nineteen is going to have some stuff you weren't expecting, some of you may be angry, some of you will be like well, how does that work. Drama, stuff happens with unexpected twists and turns, so please join us next week as our journey continues. This is Reverend Archangel signing off, hoping cool breezes and lots of rain, seriously too many forest fires. Also hugs and crisp high fives to everyone, some of you might get high-tens.**

 **P.S. To BlitzKraig. In regards to this character that you sent:**

 _ **Hey, I might be a little late to the party here, and I would've submitted my idea when you said to in chapter 12 but I started reading when you were at fifteen chapters and I didn't think we would still be in bunny burrow by fifteen or seventeen for that matter. So if you're still in need of background bunnies here's my submission. Lucas: An aspiring musician who owns a small guitar and guitar repair shop in the underground. He's twenty three, sweet on the inside, rock n' roll on the outside, can handle money like nobody's business, and has an undying protective nature and sense of justice which is fortunate for the poor souls that get jumped in the allie next to his place. This lack of regard for his well being and sometimes just vindictive behavior has gotten him in trouble a few times though. Sorry if this isn't enough, but I figured that you wouldn't need much sense he's not going to be focused on if he's put in at all. Have a nice day.**_

 **Truly I like this idea for a character. I couldn't find a way to get him put into this chapter because we're passed The Underground, but when chapter XVII is updated and the new snippets are added and stuff I'll put him in. I really liked this idea, since this area in my story is sort of gloomy and dark, and that this would be a perfect way to show that things aren't all that bad. We'll be seeing him soon, so thanks for this character.**


	19. First Day Back

_**Chapter**_

 _ **XVIV**_

 _ **First Day Back**_

The fox officer placed his larger paw over the rabbit's smaller one in an attempt to ease some of her worries. She rolled her paw underneath his till their palms were pressed together, locking their fingers together. It was silent between them as they sat in their cruiser, both waiting for the other to say something or make a move. They had parked in the underground cruiser pool ten minutes ago, yet neither of them had made the slightest sign of getting out anytime soon. This was out of their habitual routine with work; they'd show up at the station an hour before they needed to be there, get some coffee or something healthy to drink and eat, also they'd chat with Clawhauser, who was always at his desk even before they showed up.

What they were doing now troubled the male a little, since he personally never wanted to head into work so early. But it definitely beat sharing their bed alone when his wife got up; there was always the option of sleeping in a little while longer, but it wasn't the same as when she was next to him. Begrudgingly he had to admit that being up and about a couple hours before work helped make the mornings easier, as his head would clear from the morning grogginess. It was far from meaning he enjoyed it, except she made it up to him in their morning stretches. The tod followed along and carried them out alongside his mate, as he did though he'd steal peeks of her lithe and fit form flexing in the routines. She could be rather distracting at times, but his admiration for her was much further than fur deep. However no one could deny that she wasn't cute. In his eyes she was beautiful, her eyes, that smile, the way her ears would lower and perk up, that fluffy tail of hers, the way she laughed. These were some of her traits that drew him to her, it wasn't as if he was in love with everything about her.

The same could be said about how she saw him as well, there were traits that she loved and hated. For example the way he held his past in such secrecy, his over protectiveness of her at times, the way he shrugged, the seldom lazy days he had, the way he sometimes teased her, his straightforwardness, how he'd legally bend the law to do things more flexibly. These were the worst, but the top peeve was when he was overly cynical about matters. This was what she found fault in him. How she drove him to wanting to tear his ears off was; her black and white views of the law at times, her prying too deeply into his past, her over the top enthusiasm, the way she sometimes approached dangerous situations, her competitiveness, then there was her shyness. These weren't bad things about her, it was what made her the doe that he loved so dearly.

Her charging into situations headfirst had nearly given him more heart attacks then he'd like to count. One that stood out in his memory was how she had taken on a grizzly bear who was violently refusing arrest. He had been hurled at the side of a car, cracking two ribs and suffering a killer of a migraine afterwards. Seeing her taking on the threat by herself while he was helpless to do anything, forced to watch. His little heart had been jumping about in his chest for the entire ordeal. Each and every time that the predator had nearly grazed her with his claws, or managed to knock her back a few meters, it was truly a horrible experience to go through. Eventually she had put enough tranquilizers in the offender till he had fallen unconscious. Afterwards he had congratulated his partner, thanking her for saving their hides, for the most part. It didn't require medical attention, just him to take it easy for the next month, honestly how he had survived till this point, he was even left in astonishment.

Nevertheless, this was all in the past and it was the present that mattered right now. Placing these memories and thoughts away, the older officer studied his partner as she looked outside the driver's side window, her ears were laid back, however they weren't droopy. Her expression was blank, her eyes glazed over as if she was bored, or tired. This was new, on the whole it was him who wore this expression, especially this early on a Monday. It was generally her who was in that confident, energetic mood that would kick his up and get him smiling about the upcoming day. Now, it was replaced with what many animals wore in the morning, an expression that said I hate my job but I do it anyways to pay the bills and get by. That or she was exhausted from them getting back so late last night, since her family had done everything they could to keep them for a little longer.

The reynard should be the one who was tired, she had fallen asleep in the passenger seat, whilst he did all the driving back home. It had taken an extra hour due to a large thunder storm, their cruiser being pelted by rain all the way from Bunnyburrows all the way back to Zootopia. Not that he should be surprised by the heavy shower, it was mid-June now, and they hadn't had that many storms in May, as such it seemed that the wet season was a little late. Either way they had gotten home around three or maybe it was two in the morning today. To say in the least, he felt awful, on the verge of falling asleep if he closed his eyes for too long. Last night….earlier that morning….whenever it was, sleep hadn't found him easily. It usually didn't since he was a night animal, but he could still get a decent amount of sleep. Today he'd be lucky if he wasn't crashed out in their cruiser or office before thirteen-hundred.

Fifteen, nearly twenty minutes had gone as they sat in silence in the cruiser, enough time for the predator to have run to the nearest donut shop and come back. It wasn't horrible in their cruiser, the silence between them was comfortable, yet he knew that the emotions weren't, the expression on the doe's face told him enough. Still, she looked out the window at the gray concrete world that was their station's parking lot. They're vehicle was one of the only few that were here, most of the officers of the nightshift were still making their rounds, who'd be relieved once their shift started.

His muzzle opened a fraction, but he shut it as he didn't know what to say or do to approach his partner on this matter. As an alternative he gave her paw a squeeze, enjoying the way that her soft fur pressed against his soft leathery pads. Her visage lightened a little, but she let out a long breath of air through her nose. This was something that he had become accustomed to calling her worn out sigh. Emerald eyes widening a degree he couldn't help but to ask.

"What's got you so down today?" he scooted a little closer, the middle console currently barring them apart.

"Nothing," she hummed, closing her gorgeous amethyst eyes.

"And I'm the fastest hare in the Triburrow county," he teased, folding the console back so he could be closer to her. "Come on, you can tell me anything, Fluff?"

"I'm just tired."

"Want me to take you home?"

"No, you know me," a weak laugh escaped her. "I'll soldier through it, besides someone has to keep an eye on you."

"As much as that touches me, Carrots," the side of their legs were flush together, their paws breaking away as he wrapped his arm around her. "It looks like there's something on your mind."

"It's nothing…honestly," she sighed, her eyes blinking tiredly.

"Sorry about waking you up last night…and this morning?" he had been rather restless that morning, not from a nightmare or because he was full of energy, he just couldn't fall asleep. As of last night, she had been asleep when they got home and he was just too tired himself to carry her, or he would have gladly done so.

"It's fine," the other officer pressed the side of her face against his shoulder, letting out a calm breath. "You're always fidgety after you've driven for a long time."

"I never….I never really pay attention to myself all that much," the other officer grinned as he looked out the window. "I'm usually focused on what you're doing, boss," he added.

"Well a lot of animals have been interested in you for the last week or two."

"They're just jealous that you claimed the sexiest predator in this city," she giggled, nuzzling one of his pecks affectionately. "We've gathered ourselves quite a following haven't we," he referred to all the animals waiting outside the ZPD for them, a mixture of protestors, news crews, and supporters, or just random animals that were interested in what all the fuss was about. He'd have to guess there was a few hundred or more waiting for them.

"Doesn't seem like we can run any longer, does it?"

"When have we ever run away from anything, huh? You're always encouraging us to tackle life and it's problems head on. Besides, we were busy with our vacation and doing police work."

"So just answer their question with a question?"

"Don't think that's going to satisfy them this time, Honey-Bunny. I already got a bad rep here, I can't really afford them to paint me in a worse light then it already is."

"You don't care what animals think of you though."

"Not completely true, I care about what our families, our friends and especially what you think of me," he corrected, his voice full of mirth. "I just don't care what strangers think of me, I am who I am, if they can't accept that, well they should get to know be better. But I don't want some animal to get into their head that attacking me would be a good choice either."

"Hmmmm, so what's the plan to get into the station?" she hummed.

"We could ask Clawhauser to meet us around back at one of the exits…but as I found out….that sets the fire alarms off," he mumbled, even to this day he could quite clearly hear the chief lecturing him about how much of an idiot he was….is. If it was an option they could just simply walk into the station from the garage, but no. The two structures weren't attached to one another, something about security.

"You got any ideas?" the tod inquired of his mate, nudging her nose with his.

"Yeah, we're just going to have to suck it up and face it."

"Not really much of an option…..Now tell me what's really bothering you. You're never this out of it when you're tired?"

"I want to be left alone, Sweetheart. I don't like our relationship being on the news. I understand that we're the first officers of our species in the ZPD, maybe even the first rabbit and fox couple here. But I don't want to be seen as a celebrity."

"I just don't like the camera time, the flashes hurt my eyes," he chuckled, but stopped as his mate gave him a glare. She wasn't in the mood for joking about. "Seriously they hurt my eyes," he mumbled, tightening the arm he had around her. He felt one of her arms wrap around his middle, giving him a tender hug.

"Sorry, I sometimes forget about how sensitive your eyes are," it was something that she had unfortunately found out the hard way. They were messing around after work one night and she had flashed her flashlight in his eyes, causing him to yelp in pain. Along with making him temporarily blind as he had become accustomed to the dark.

"I don't like this much either, but you can blame your siblings for this mess?"

"What…..what are we going to do? They know where we work, they'll know where we live soon enough. I don't want animals following us around and scrutinizing everything we do in our lives," the doe's ears were laid back pathetically, the expression on her muzzle mirroring it.

"There's nothing we can do about it now, Darling," the fox was just as frustrated about this as the rabbit was, but unlike her he often didn't show it. "Well, I don't know about you, but The Underground has some pretty cheap homes, wanna go hide our same underneath a rock?"

"I'm not going anywhere, this is our home. I'm not leaving it just because of them." she shook her head defiantly.

"Welp, give it a couple weeks or months and no one will care," he explained, giving the top of her head a kiss before resting his muzzle atop it, "With how we're going to get in, we'll just have to answer some questions and make some excuses about how we're on duty or something."

"You make it sound like this entire thing is a joke, Slick?" how he was able to just shrug these kind of things off like they weren't problems baffled her.

"Accusing me of not taking this seriously again?" he smirked, though she couldn't have known. "I don't really care what everyone else thinks, as long as Chief Buffalo Butt doesn't reassign us to different partners, then everything will be fine."

"If he does?" she asked mischievously.

"I guess that doesn't really matter either, there's always time off work," he lifted his head off of hers so he could look at her. He cupped the side of her face with a paw, trailing his thumb across her silky gray fur.

"If you think about it, there's not much they can do to keep us apart, is there?" his smirk widened, as he inched closer to her muzzle with his own, till a few centimeters were between them.

"There's always something they could do," she laughed as his warm breath washed over her whiskers, making them twitch from the ticklish sensation.

"Really, besides getting shot again, I don't think there's that much they can do."

"Unless I found out you're a serial killer or something."

"Just don't go looking in my closest, I haven't decided to come out yet," he laughed as she shoved his muzzle away from hers, though she was snickering as she held back her giggles.

"You're such a Jerk!" the shorter officer straightened the others tie for him as she gave the seldom weak chuckle from his dumb joke. Her paws slipped the knot up till it was tight, but not uncomfortable for him to breathe or restrict any neck movement.

"Thanks, Carrots," he sighed. "I could have done it myself, but you always get it the way I like it."

Judy titled her head to the side a tad, giving her head a little shake as she looked at him. Their eyes stared into one another's for a little while, amethysts concentrating on his emeralds, ones that just seemed so unnatural. Further still they contradicted the other as opposites, which they very much were, all the way to their tails. Though she wouldn't have it any other way, they balanced each other out. That wasn't to say that her mate's personality didn't sometimes leave her frustrated and in the worst cases aggravated. But those moments didn't matter, she loved him and found his, calm, charismatic, lazy and laid back attitude, rather attractive. This he knew well enough, mainly because she had told him, but not in those exact words. For the most part he found this out by just looking into her eyes, where he saw how she truly saw him.

The moment lasted a few moments longer as the doe's paws moved from his tie, only to trace through the fur of his creamy furred neck. The vulpine watched his lapin curiously, not knowing what she was exactly up to as she scooted from his side so she was somewhat straddling his lap. The feeling of her claws gently grazing the flesh beneath his fur made his body shiver pleasantly, all the while her claws made their way to his muzzle. They didn't stop there either, instead they ran their way down either side of his muzzle, stopping at his cheeks which she cupped with her paws. Seeing how this would play out he waited patiently, his eyes fixated on hers as hers were on his. He didn't have to wait long as she leaned forward and he did the same, but what he had been expecting was actually just their noses pressing together, a different kind of kiss. The way that his mate's twitched against his was ticklish but it also shot through a mixture of sensations, ones that he couldn't quite describe, though they were all as equally breathtaking.

"I know, but you're pretty handsome in your uniform," the prey sighed a few moments after she pulled her little pink nose away from his purple one. Her expression had become peaceful from the kiss.

"Tell me about it, vixens these day are always sneaking peaks," the fox smirked deviously. "Though I must admit, that I'm not as good looking as you are in uniform," his paws traced her curves, having gone there when she was kissing him.

"That's just you," she smirked as she got off of him, scooting over to the door, getting ready to get out and officially start their day.

"I'm hurt, Carrots. Not even going to get a bit defensive that other females are seeing me as eye candy?"

"Nope. As long as they don't touch what they don't own then I don' care."

"Hmmm, good to know, there's these….."

"Don't even think about it, Dumb Fox!"

"Double standards now?" the vulpine called, getting out of the cruiser as his mate did. "Seriously, I don't think I like where this is going! Maybe we should see a marriage councilor about you being a control freak!" the predator rose his voice a degree as he stepped out of the cruiser and promptly headed around the cruiser, only to find that he was alone when he got to the driver's side.

"Carrots? Where'd you get off to?"

The officer mumbled to himself before his ears shot up, catching the faint sound an animal padding away. His eyes darted to his left, seeing that she was making her way back up to the street level. Throwing his head back dramatically he let out a whimpering groan, which made her ears twitch as they caught the sound. The only response he got, was her glancing over her shoulder with a smirk, in addition to twitching her tail teasingly at him. Other than that she was silent as she continued to make her way up the side of the incline. Letting out a growl he put a lazy kick into his steps, jogging to catch up with her so he wasn't all alone in the garage.

When he finally caught up with his partner they were halfway between the garage and the imposing building that stood as the central police station of the city. It had taken a greater deal of energy to come up alongside her, the gradient having made it a bit of a challenge. That and tripping over his own hind-paws like a toddler hadn't helped all that much either. This was quite possibly because the asphalt had been rather slick, not having dried enough since the previous storm. Long story short, his pants had damp marks from where he had fallen to his knees, his breath came unsteadily as he panted, a painful stitch was forming right where he had been shot, in all he felt horrible.

"He…..hey, Car-Carrots?" Nick gasped, having stopped as he doubled over, the healed wound starting to play up.

"What, feeling tired old guy?" she called back, not having looked back to see that he was in pain.

"Wa…wait up…m-my gut's….." his legs wobbled as the ghost pains were making him feel dizzy. A moment later, he crumbled to his knees, only just catching himself with a paw, his other having shot to his stomach, of his uniform shirt being balled up into a fist.

"Wha…..Nick!" the tod's black tipped ears caught the soft thudding of her paws as she ran back over to him. A few moments passed till she was resting down on her knee-guards beside him, her smaller form pressed up against him, a paw having been rested on his back. "Ohhhh, Sweetheart," her voice having become delicate, laced heavily with worry. The same paw had made its way to the scruff of his neck, one of the few places that was exposed that she could pet reassuringly.

"I…it's been fine…for so long….I thought it went away."

"Want to take the day off?"

"No…..I'll be fine."

"Are you sure….if it's this bad," he smiled despite it all, nice to know that she was there for him.

"Yeah…..can't let you have all the fun without me," the male pushed himself back up to his rear-paws, a little wobbly till, even in spite of the height difference, his partner wrapped one of his arms around her shoulder, supporting him. He leaned against her a little, not wanting her to take on his whole weight, though she had proven long ago that she was strong enough.

"If you're absolutely sur…." she was silenced as he gave her forehead an encouraging nuzzle.

"Hey," the law enforcer panted, still trying to regain his breath. "I'll be alrigh….."

The fox slowly shut his muzzle, having noticed that the large gathering of animals waiting outside of the station had turned their attention to them. It would be safe to say that they had witnessed what had just occurred, chances were they had recorded it as well. Forcing his focus away from them, he looked down to his partner, his ears twitching as he heard the crowd approach them.

"Stay close to me, Judith," he breathed, knowing full well that this could cause her to have a panic attack. She had come close to having one when a group of reporters had surrounded her in the ZPD, having wanted answers to the unreasonable questions that they had demanded of her. The reply he got was a small nod, her expression having become uneasy, the arm she had around his middle having tightened. He gave her a little squeeze, having had an arm around her shoulders to assist in keeping him upright.

Before they knew it they were encircled, numerous recorders, microphones and cameras aimed at them. The animals wielding them and those that didn't had a mixture of emotions written on their muzzles and snouts. From the piqued curiousness of the reporter all the way to the coldhearted glares from the Anti-Interspecies protestors. Questions and accusations came at them like machine gun fire, the two officer's hardly having opened their mouths before another one came.

"Is it true that you're married to a predator, Officer Hopps….." a female bobcat demanded.

The rabbit opened was able to mumble out, "Yes I am, but….." but was cut off as a badger shoved his microphone at them.

"How come you two kept this a secret?"

The fox took this one, "Really…..would you want to be interrogated…"

"…wrong, this should be illega…" a minx shouted out before she was shoved away by some camera crews, her voice being replaced by a tiger who inquired of the fox officer.

"Officer Wilde, what just happened a few moments ago?"

"Can a fox be out of shape without being asked abou…"he was cut off by an otter who shoved his way in, pointing a recorder at the red-furred mammal.

"There's a rumor that the two of you are trying to adopt, do you feel that because you're interspecies you're chances will be hampered?"

Judy jumped in for this one, as her partner was being questioned by some journalist who was asking about his views on the Night Howlers case.

"Yes the rumors is correct, we're trying to adopt, but we don't feel like it should affect our chances."

"Interspecies is revolting, how about being normal!" some animal yelled but was soon drowned out.

"Is it true that foxes are abusive mat….." a male rabbit demanded.

"No that's not true at all," the rabbit officer cut them off calmly.

"Is this some kind of message for animals to accept interspecies relationships?" a lioness questioned them.

The vulpine smirked before answering. "No, I married Judy because I love her, there's no strings attached here."

"What are you implying as strings, sir?" the same journalist inquired.

"We…I don't care what anyone thinks…..as long as we're together we're happy," he replied, but what to let out a growl as it invoked another question.

"Do you have doubts about your marriage?"

"Nope, we're perfectly fine."

"How long have you two known each other exactly," the same predator asked.

"Four years," the doe answered, having caught the subtle glimpse of annoyance in her partner's eyes.

"Does the rest of the police force know that you two are married?" a dingo questioned, accidently bumping the fox officer in the nose with his microphone.

"Not before it showed up on social media and the news," the vulpine mumbled, rubbing the sore spot, the same predator mouthing an apology.

"Is this some kind of fetish, Officer Hopps?" a male gazelle questioned.

"What! No!" the younger officer scoffed in disbelief.

"Of your partner then?" the horned prey questioned further.

"No!" the rabbit's darkened a degree, having become uncomfortable. The only reassurance was the arm her husband had around her, reminding her that she wasn't alone.

"What are your opinions on inner-species relationships?" an opossum asked

"Why should it matter who you date, or fall in love with. Be with who you want to be," the vulpine answered, seeing that the journalists were writing down everything they said, probably adding their reactions as well.

"Officer Wilde, is it true that you tried to attack Jack Savage?" inquired a ram.

"No, I did not try to lay a single finger on Mr. Savage's precious little head," the fox said calmly, this being far from the truth.

In truth, if things had gotten any worse at his rabbit's family reunion, he would have just about decked the little rodent over a table. Seriously, he wouldn't have given two cares in the world if Mr. Savage went about the day making specieist remarks about foxes and him personally, but directing that at his mate had been seriously crossing the line. What's more, to have the nerve to flirt with her and to imply that ever she changed her mind he'd be there for off to the side fun, to her face with him beside her. It had taken her and four of her relatives to keep him down or he'd have done much worse than punch the suit wearing little prick. Regardless of where he presently was, with so many animals surrounding him, his mind could recollect the thoughts and emotions going through his mind as he was being held down by his in-laws and mate.

The fox officer's thoughts were broken when a female beaver posed a question to his mate.

"Officer Hopps, is it true that a fox clawed you when you were a kit?"

"Yes, but that was in….."

"How come you can trust one after such a traumatic experience? What are your views on communities pushing for predators to wear tame collars?" the same reporter went on.

"Absolutely not, we can't just act out of fear," the rabbit declared.

"How come you're not with a vixen, they not good enough for you…"

"Will you give it a rest!" an animal yelled at the protestors, though the officers couldn't quite make out where they were coming from.

"Have either of you two ever messed around while on duty?" a male raccoon brought up.

"Do you honestly think that officers can get away with that sort of thing while on duty?" Nick deadpanned.

"Can we still trust the ZPD? What other secrets are they hiding from the public?" another reporter demanded, a middle aged looking zebra.

"I can reassure you the public can still put their trust in the police, they are not hiding anything from you. We're here to serve and protect you," the doe answered with confidence, her head starting to spin from the continuous bombardment of questions.

"…..true that you tried to join the Junior Scou…." Nick was able to make out as he was answering a shrew about his views on the tension between prey and predators these last couple of years, and if that was affecting his partnership with his wife..

"…are you related to Mr. Wi…." Judy's ears shot up in interest but she had been replying to a chipmunks questions about how the ZPDs new mammal initiative was going. In addition to that question, what other animals could they expect to see in uniform next.

"Mr. Wilde aren't you seven to eight years older than your partner?" a groundhog that looked to be in his late twenties demanded with a skeptical tone.

"I am thirty-two, I'll be thirty-three this August. Judy is three years younger than me," he growled out. It may have been years ago, but it appeared that his partners initial thoughts of him weren't that high. Sure, he had been the stereotypical con-artist, lying, thieving, backstabbing fox, but was he in all honestly that bad?

"Officer Hopps, do you go by Hopps or Wilde now? Did your mate force you to have the change of surname?" a hippo piped in.

"It's Officer Wilde now," the lapin cleared up. "No, my husband didn't force me to take his, we agreed on it."

"Has your partner ever forced you into doing something you didn't want to do, Officer Hopps-Wilde?" the same female beaver as before asked, her questions were starting to become annoying.

"My mate has never forced me into anything…"

Half an hour limped by, the two law enforcers' frustration having steadily grown from the constant questioning to this point. On top of everything else the reporter had started to become all the more invasive with their inquiries. Some had even dared to go so far as it ask them about their mating habits, which one of them was the dominate partner, or if they even mated at all. However the worst had been when a wolf reporter asked about….well if the size difference made things difficult for them if they did. With these questions, the fox and the rabbit had swiftly moved them onto other topics. Though if this continued on any longer, Judy was going to try and respectfully demand that they be left alone.

This wouldn't be the only reason to why this had to be wrapped up fairly soon. If this was to drag out any longer, the two of them would be more or less late for the morning debriefing. Then again, it was rather tempting to let it play out this way, if only to have Bogo come out and drag them into the station, where he'd more than likely shove them into his office to yell their ears off. Facing the cape buffalo's wrath sounded better than staying out here for even one more second. Despite the fact that the one-ton mammal more than likely had no desire to get himself involved with their predicament, as the ZPD couldn't really afford anymore criticism.

The red-fox covered his eyes with a paw, which were already hidden behind his shades, having slid them on when he had come up from the garage. It was a rather bright day, forecasted to get into the high nineties in the Savannah District. Presently it was in the sixties, as it was only coming up for zero-eight-hundred, but he could feel that it was starting to heat up. Nevertheless, even with how pleasant the day currently was, it was turning out to be a horrible one to have woken up to. The day had drastically changed from when their phones' alarm clocks had screeched at them to get up. From the breakfast cereal to the shared shower to the drive to the stations garage to this moment the day had gone from enthusiasm all the way to disgust. Now the only thing he wanted to do was to crawl underneath the bed, if only to wake up and find out that it had all been some kind of awful nightmare.

Though from how he could feel the sun's rays warming the fur of his body, the soft cool wind that by some other means or another wormed it's way through the crowd, the warmth of his partner's body as he held her to his side, the sound of the busy city around them, even the Anti-Interspecies protestors who had been pushed outside of the ring of reporters, it all spoke that this was very much real. If that wasn't enough evidence then there were the buildings, the way the sun was reflecting off each and every individual pane of glass. Still, if that still didn't convince him or any other animals there was always the nose. From where they were, his nose could pick up a variety of scents from his wife to the animals around them. He could even make through it the smell of a bakery that wasn't too far away from them, maybe a quarter or half a mile away.

Pulling his paw away from his face, his eyes focused back on the news teams, their attention rapt on them and how they answered to their questions, either set up by them or the stations they belonged to. No doubt the two of them would be showing up on quite a few channels and radio stations tonight, maybe even making the front of the paper if they were as unfortunate as he thought they were. Letting out a sigh, he shook his head with a scowl.

"Alright, we're gonna have to call it a day guys," the tod raised his paws, forcing a friendly smile.

"Mr. Wilde, if you would?" a gray fox had squeezed himself between a rhino and a mountain-lion, directing a microphone at him. The officer pulled out his phone, seeing that they still had five minutes before the chief handed over the days assignments. His mate, along with the other animals around them were watching him curiously.

"Alright kid, you got me interested, what is it," he conceded.

"Thank you," the other vulpine sighed, showing that he was nervous, possibly a new reporter. "As a fox that has lived in Zootopia his whole life, what is your opinion of our city's slogan, _Where anyone can be anything_?"

The red furred mammal closed his mouth, taking a few moments to look over the heads of the crowd, all the reporters and journalists waiting for his reply.

 _Great, loaded question for the cities once most stereotypical fox….God! Judy would know what to say, she's better at these kind of questions then I am._ Nick thought to himself, for once at a true loss of words. His mind was drawing up a blank with how to reply. Did they want his honest opinion, or did they want him to say what they wanted him to say.

 _Does the slogan fit the city? Yes, yes it does._ Was his first idea how to reply, just to get this over with. _In my opinion, it couldn't be less from the truth…_? Were the words that he about let out of his muzzle before his gaze landed on his mate's amethyst pools. His mate, who was a rabbit, natural enemies to foxes since the beginning of time. Them being together as friends, the later on husband and wife, then mates. Anything was possible if you allowed it to be, him being a cop showed that much.

Letting out a breath of air through his nose, the tod replied with a clear and calm voice. " _Where anyone can be anything_ ," a chuckle escaped him, not able to help it. With a small nod and a smile tugging at the corner of his muzzle, flashes indicating that some camera's captured it.

"If you were to ask me this same question four years ago, I would tell you that it isn't true. But ever since I met our first rabbit officer here," the fox looked down at her with his lazy smile before snapping his focus back up to the reporter.

"I have to say that we might be getting there, but as we've seen these last couple of weeks we still have a ways to go. Interspecies isn't illegal like it used to be, but society is definitely not accepted by many animals still. I can honestly guarantee you that there are only a pawful of Interspecies couples in this city. Who are either too afraid or unwilling to show it because of how animals react to it," he chuckled dryly, shaking his head this time before fixing his hidden eyes on the reporters camera man.

"Doesn't quite fit the slogan does it."

The predator officer pulled his phone out after he let that one soak in, seeing that they were effectively, a few minutes late to signing in for the day. He wouldn't be surprised if his partner planned on to killing him later, since this would be the first time that they were late.

"That's it from us, now if you can all sort of move out of the way, we're late reporting in today," some of the animals opened up a gap in the circle, letting them through without any further questions.

"Come on, we're late," Judy pulled out of his hold, bounding her way up the steps of the ZPD. Nick was a step behind her, his ears mirrored hers as they flicked back, hearing protestors yelling after them, though it was simple back noise as they had more important matters on their minds.

 _Fifteen minutes later….._

"Hopps! Wilde!" Bogo's voice resounded through the empty assembly room. "In my office, now!" his voice had taken the usual gruff no nonsense tone.

The two officers watched as the much larger prey left the room, his rear-hooves clomping heavily against the green tile.

"Well…maybe it's just a catch up," the doe stated optimistically, gaining a snort from her partner.

"Come on, Carrots," the fox ruffled the fur of her head. "We both know it's about all that _undercover_ work we've been doing. Besides, he didn't give us an assignment like everyone else, we're the only two officers still here, and he wants to shoot the breeze with us in his office."

"What are you getting at?"

"He's firing you," he said with a shrug of his shoulder. "I mean come on. Infatuating with a fox, going behind the stations back, not updating him on your marital status," he listed amusedly, as he got out of the chair that they shared, which was big enough for a rhino to sit in. "To top it all off, you're basically my superior, so you might be letting me get away with stuff," it was all play.

"Ohhh, is that so," she said trailing after him. "What about you then? It's obvious I'm just a poor naïve bunny whose been manipulated by a rookie."

The doe stated, jumping up onto his shoulders, his paws resting on her thighs to hold her still. Her tiny paws wrapped around the smooth, cool metal of the door handle, which she pulled down till it clicked. Nick took a few steps back, helping her to get it open a little, the chief having forgotten about how their heights, again.

"Don't worry, I'll reassign so we can wallow together till we move on with our lives. I was thinking about starting my own business," the tod had pulled the door open enough for them to walk into one of the many corridors of the station.

"This better not be that theme park idea again," his mate mumbled underneath her breath.

"No," he turned around, walking backwards as he spread his paws out at her, his pads facing her. "Wilde's Pawsicles, a cool treat for those hot summer days," he faced away from her as he laughed.

"And where would I be in all this?"

"I don't know, taking care of the kids, or running it by my side," she was close enough for him to wrap an arm around her shoulder, lavishing her head with a kiss, just as quickly letting her go.

"I honestly don't know what I'll do if I'm fired." When she had resigned, she had gone back to live with her family, not knowing where else she could go or do.

"He can't fire the first animals of their species, that would look bad on his part. Think about all the interspecies supporters, rabbits, and foxes that he'd tick off if he did. Trust me, we got him in a corner, what can he can do."

"I'm going to pretend that I didn't just hear you plan to manipulate Bogo."

"If anything, I'll resign and convince him to keep you," the fox sighed his voice taking a serious edge, seeing as this was somewhat a serious conversation.

"Dumb Fox, like I'd let you do that!" she chuckled, looking up to his face to see his grave expression. "No! Nick you can't!" she gasped. "You worked too hard for this."

"So did you, Fluff," he groaned, rubbing one of his eyes irritably, an eyelash actually having fallen in.

"If you go, I'm going with you," she stopped in the corridor, they were only a minute or two from their superior's office. It would take one of their fellow officers half of that time, but this was due to their height, still being the shortest cops the first precinct.

"No, I'm not letting you do that. You wanted to be a cop since you were a kitten," he placed his paws on her shoulders, kneading them tenderly. Her eyes were cast to a spot on the floor to her right, filled with a range of raging emotions.

"This means so much to you," The rabbits breaths were coming to her painfully, her chest rising and falling heavily, tears threatening to spill over.

"Hey, don't do that, it'll be alright," he cooed, watching as she cast her head downwards, her ears flopping forward to hide her eyes, hiding from him.

"Life isn't about what we want, Judith," he sat down on one knee so they were eye level, brushing her ears back."It's about doing the right thing, for the right reasons. I can mana…..manage without being a cop," her eyes finally focused on his, as she heard his voice waver. He smiled at encouragingly as she did, brushing away the tears that were making their way down her cheeks.

"But you, I love your crazy family as much as you, but I don't want you going back there, unless that's what you want and it makes you happy," he said softly.

"What about you?" the lapin let out with a sob.

"If you're happy, then I am too."

"Well, it's not going to happen," he watched her swallow the lump in her throat, making her grimace a little.

"I know, but if it does…." he would have given her a hug, but there were rules about showing affection while here. In its place he gave her shoulders a comforting squeeze…. "then we'll figure out where to go from there," he stood up, smiling down at his wife, a weak smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

"Let's not keep the Chief waiting," the lapin said as she put a little kick in her step, her partner keeping pace with her to her side.

A minute or so later found the at the door to their superior office, both of them hesitated to knock, or announce themselves, but eventually the smaller of the two mammals did. Not that she wanted to, considering that her partner had taken a step back, gently pushing her to go first. As she rasped her knuckles against it, she rolled her eyes, not believing that he made her do it first. It wasn't because he was scared, his eyes had too much of a playful glint in them as he persuaded her forward.

"Chief Bogo, it's Officers…"

"Come in!" she was interrupted by the larger animal.

The rabbit officer anxiously made her way into the room; the predator quietly closing the door behind them as she did. A few moments later, he heaved himself up onto the chair next to his wife. The one ton head of the ZPD was studying the two of them emotionlessly, his expression stern yet board at the same time. This was something he had undoubtedly mastered from being the head of the police for so many years. Though, this did little to intimidate the red fox, whose emerald eyes returned a stare of their own into his boss's hazel ones, waiting to hear what had to be said.

"Officers Hopp…"

"Sir," the doe piped up nervously, earning her a cocked eyebrow and the entirety of the other male's attention. Every time that she was reprimanded by him, she always felt so small and pathetic.

"Well, I'm waiting."

"It's Officer Wilde now," she mumbled, looking down at her lap, rubbing her paws together, having learnt that it wasn't a good idea to interrupt the buffalo.

"You're going to have to repeat that."

"It's Officer Wilde," she declared, louder this time.

"That…that's exactly the reason I called you two here," Bogo leaned forward, resting his immense forearms on the oak desk, cupping his left hoof in his right, like he was about to return a spiked volley ball. "Now, no one is going to leave this office, till we've sorted out what we're going to do about this."

"I can see this is why they won't let you teach at the academy, Chief."

"Lock it down, Wilde," Bogo shot back irritably, getting the fox to grimace but it looked more like a grin, furthering the prey's irritable mood. "And get that smirk off your face officer."

"I would love…..to…sir… but I can't."

"I swear to god," the prey rumbled threateningly, "If you're sassing me fox, you'll be working records department for the next month."

"No…..it….it's not that," the predator mumbled.

"Wilde, do you need to go home, or to see the medical staff?" the rabbit and the buffalo noticed that the fox's paw was covering the right side of his stomach, his claws digging into the shirt.

"No, I'm fine…..it's nothing serious," he groaned, leaning back in the chair, eyes fixing on the walls behind his boss.

"Sir, permission to speak?" the doe asked, understanding that her mate didn't want to talk about it.

"Go ahead?" the chief tore his attention away from the predator, having been updated by his partner about his condition.

"Why are we here?"

"Well Mrs. Wilde," he turned his attention back to his most devoted officer, but not before sparing the fix a worried glance. "Do you have any idea what you're two's little secret has done?"

"No, sir I can't," she said, casting her eyes down.

"For one, we've had nosey reporters knocking on our doors every hour of the day. The news crews want to discuss with me my thoughts on the matter, and demanding to know where you two are like I know what you're up to when you're on leave," a hoof turned into a clenches fist. "Then there's the Anti-Interspecies groups protesting on the stations steps. Also I got the city council right up my tail along with the mayor, demanding that I sort this mess out," the prey leaned forward in his seat a little, glaring at the two of them. The fox though couldn't take the bull all that seriously, since he had his glasses on and was suffering a considerate amount of pain, but kept it to himself.

"Would either of you care to know what I plan on doing about it?" he demanded.

"Well we all knew this day was coming," Judy's eyes widened as she saw her partner start to unpin the badge, one that she had placed there herself such a short time ago.

"Leave it alone Wilde," the chief ordered, his own eyes having widened a little. "I'm not firing either of you."

"Thank you sir," the doe sighed in relief.

"But, if either of you start behaving like Wolford or Fangmeyer, I'm assigning you new partners, do I make myself clear?" The fox noticed that his mate rapidly nodded her head in agreement, he did likewise his expression relaxing as the pain started to disappear.

"Glad we all understand one another," the buffalo leaned back in his chair, but still watched them. "Now that we got that out of the way. How was your two's vacation?"

"It was alright, felt like I fell straight into bunny he…"

"Nick!" Judy exclaimed offensively.

"Just pulling on your ears, Carrots," he waved a paw dismissively. "Did you miss me, Buffalo…" the fox thought better of it, stopping himself. "Come on, tell me you missed me, maybe just a little, what do you say Chief?" he measured a minute distance between his thumb and index finger.

"My mornings were a lot quieter for these past two weeks for some reason, I can't imagine why though," he mused to himself. "Till today, it's like this annoying little itch that won't go away."

"After all we've been through, after all those times that I helped you out, you still can't admit that you love having me around."

"I would miss the coffee machine, before you'd get…" Bogo stopped himself, his expression had suddenly become unreadable. "Alright, it's not horrible having you here Wilde, I like you so much I'm going to keep you around the station. Papercut detail, six months," the fox's eyes widened, his mouth falling open a little ways as he stared at the buffalo in absolute dread. "Just kiddin…."

"Chief Bogo?" Judy interrupted once again, a puzzled look on her muzzle.

"Yes…what am I supposed to call you now anyways. Wilde One, Wilde Two. I can't call you by…..you know what, I don't care. I'm calling you Hopps and Wilde, it'll make my life easier, also you can expect a new badge and name tag in two weeks," he saw that the stations most dedicated officer watching him, waiting for her turn to speak. "What is it Hopps?"

"What about with everything else?"

"There's nothing we can do about the Anti-Species protestors. As with the reporters, that's up to you. I don't care what you do as long as it doesn't reflect badly on the ZPD…..or the city, got it?"

"Chief, isn't there something you can do?" Nick asked, surprising the two of them. "We're sorry about being late, but they wouldn't let us go," the fox rubbed the back of his neck in agitation.

"There's honestly nothing we can do at this time till they do something that is illegal," Bogo stated, understanding what it was like to be hounded by questions and animals that just didn't tolerate his standings or the answers he gave them.

"There are a few interspecies couples at this station finding it just as hard as you two are," he sat up in his chair, taking out his glasses and pushing them up his snout till they were close to his eyes. "Now, you two have been assigned to patrol the Docks District for the day, you're dismissed."

This was the last thing he said as he brought their little meeting to a close. His attention focusing onto the one of the open files on his desk from the stack he had taken it from. A new case, one that was going to require a lot of tact and additional information to solve. Though his mind had wrapped around what he was working on, he did notice his two officers sharing a glance at one another. The doe was about to open her muzzle to say something but she stopped herself, shaking it off, becoming visibly discouraged. The fox rested a paw on her shoulder reassuringly. When they were opening the door he let out a sigh, having forgot something.

"Hopps, Wilde?" the two officers turned to face their superior who pointed back to the chair, which they climbed back into. When they were settled the chief nodded, reaching into a folder, pulling out two different slips of paper.

"You two probably have heard but Sergeant Waterson and Lieutenant Mcmane won't be with us much longer. Waterson's transferring to a department in Clawston DC in two years, and Mcmane is retiring in two years time" he raised an eyebrow at the two officers, who nodded in acknowledgment. "Wolford and Fangmeyer will be moving into the SWAT team next year, everyone else either doesn't want to, or are moving into a different field of work at the station."

"Come on, Chief. What's this about?" the fox asked.

"This isn't usually done, but Hopps I think you'd make fill in the post of being our next Lieutenant when the time comes. You have till the month before Mcmanes retirement to study for the test. I'll sort out a date but you'd take it a month before he heads out, you'll jump from whatever rank you are then to Lieutenant, is that understood."

"Yes, sir," Judy gave hopped out of the chair, giving a salute that the buffalo could hardly see, but he returned it.

"Well, sign me up for retirement in two years," the fox chuckled. "I'm not being anyone else's partner here, Chief," his mate gave him a glare, her eyes speaking that she was going to kill him if he didn't shut up.

"That's too bad, because Hopps will need a first Sergeant with her, I could always give that post to….."

"On second thought, I'll take that post….if you'll allow me, Sir," the vulpine scratched the back of his head, knowing that the chief still didn't view foxes in that great of a light, especially since he had seen a group of them slash his cruisers tires a few months ago.

"Wilde, can't believe I'm saying this, but I think you'll do fine," the bull groaned, hating to sound too sentimental. "Now out, both of you. I have reports of a new case to go over."

A minute or two passed as the two officers left the chief's office, who opened the draw to his desk, looking down a framed picture, running a hoof over it fondly.

"At least Hopps and Wilde are keeping the attention from landing on us, Kitten," he pushed the draw in, letting out a sigh as he leaned back in his chair. "It's going to be a long couple of months," he grumbled out gruffly.

Not to the cap buffalo's knowledge, but on the other side of the door a certain fox officer was listening in with his partner. The two fo them standing off to the side to avoid the slit beneath the door. An inaudible click came from the carrot pen's recorder, the predator stopping the recording as they got everything that they needed. It would seem that they'd be getting a large portion of the betting pool as they were the ones who discovered who Bogo's mate was. With very light and precise steps the two officers vacated the area, not wanting to be caught or they'd definitely have to erase the recording.

Without saying a word Judy and Nick made their way back to the garage, the day seemingly haven brightened. The events of what had transpired scarcely an hour ago hadn't been forgotten, however it was something that was out of their control. What was said about them, how interspecies relationships were viewed wouldn't change because of them. This they had come to accept, it was one of the many harsh truths of reality. Animals would continue to have their own views on matters, if it was right or wrong, as such they'd just have to become accustomed to animals voicing their disapproval, they'd have to simply put up with the sneers and looks they would receive when they were holding paws or sharing a brief kiss, or giving the other a hug. To them it didn't matter, it honestly didn't because they were together at the end of the day, and they always would be. It'd take a lot more than societies views on it to tear them a part. Yet they weren't out of the thick of it yet, they had only entered the edge of the storm, they still had to navigate through it and find calmer waters, but this would be something the rabbit officer and fox officer would do together. The trials and adversities they'd handle together, as they had done since the doe forced them together on her first case. Such was there world, but Judy must still have been content with it as she stood up on the tips of her paws, kissing Nick on the side of his muzzle, to which he gave looked at her with his half-lidded sleepy smile, draping an arm around her waist.

* * *

 **HI: It's me folks, Reverend Archangel coming to you loud and clear from…well his laptop. Yeah this doesn't sound all that impressive when you think about it, does it, XD. Either way I'm glad to say that I hope guys had a good week and I hope you enjoyed this chapter, because it sure was different, I liked the entire thing, especially giving the news crews for the most part, such an awful reputation. I have nothing against the people who do it, just what they're told to do and report, I don't stand for it. I'm all for the freedom of the press but they sure can get out of paw, as they did here. No seriously, they're good folks, I just can't stand to watch it.**

 **Before we move on, I want to say thank you to guys for sticking with me this long. I know I'm not the quickest updater, but I truly appreciate your patience for the chapters. From my heart of hearts, my sincere thanks to all of you for being with me on this incredible journey thus far. You're reviews bring smiles to my lips every time I read them, the favorites and following this story has, show me that this story is liked by so many of you guys. I appreciate every single one of you, and if I could I would give you all a firm handshake, hug and even some crisp high-tens, even vocally thanking you, all of you for being such awesome human beings. This story has made over ninety-thousand views because of you guys, nearly four hundred reviews, over four hundred favorites and over six hundred followers.**

 **Truly you guys rock, and I can only ask you to keep reading, and to mention this to other folks who would be interested in reading this story. I also hope that you guys will also join me in the next Zootopia story that I have planned, which will come up a month or so after this one. It's title will be Zistopia, following the darker original plot of the movie to an extent. I won't give up much, but I'll be deviating from the original plot as well. I would love to have you guys tagging along with that story as well. Right after I finish this Bionicles Story…my first one, that I never completed. Please join me for that one as well if you could.**

 **Now back to business I'm afraid, lol. I hope that I got that scene done alright, it was rather difficult to type out with the reporters and stuff. I enjoyed the parts with Bogo especially, I hope I captured him correctly, tell me what you think in a review or send your thought to me in a PM. Really PM me if you got questions, I don't bite, hehhehheh. Okay maybe a little, but that's human nature for you, ;). Also, yes I have made Chief Bogo and Clawhauser a couple, don't kill me, I just ship those two like I do with Judy x Nick, Wolford x Fangmeyer, Shannon x Lance (my ocs so there you go), Lary x Gary (the two timber wolves on the Cliffside asylum in the movie who started the howl, seriously I love those two), Dawn Bellwether x Shepard Bellwether (Shepard Bellwether is not my creation though I wish he was, want to know more about him do a search).**

 **So with regards to this chapter, I'm sorry, our internet is down while the roofers repair the roof, and also the people who handle our internet decide to come over and fix it. Oh well, you lucky guys and gals will be getting two chapter out in considerably less time between them. Maybe three, urhhhhhh, hope they're not that long. *Gulps nervously while pulling at collar*. Either who, I hope this gets out soon.**

 **That's about it for now, I hope to get the next chapter going sometime this week, got to go get hay up from the northern part of the state, and I also got plans with some friends, so we'll see where this goes. I promise that there will be a chapter out this Saturday or Sunday, till next times folks this is Reverend Archangel signing off, imagine that I'm waving to you as I say this.**


	20. Unwanted Discovery

_**Chapter**_

 _ **XX**_

 _ **Unwanted Discovery**_

The fox officer wiped his forehead with the backside of his paw, only to grimace as he pulled it away, finding that his fur was dripping with perspiration. His eyes caught miniature reflections of the sun twinkling from the salty droplets, his fur ruffling from the dismal breeze. The silence that had settled over the area was broken when a sound of disgust escaped him, it was starting to soak through his coat. Considering that his uniform was already in a horrible state as it was, he shook his paw vigorously in attempt to remove the additional moisture, maybe even dry it out.

A few moments passed as he flicked away the moisture that was stubbornly sticking to him. Years ago he would have merely rubbed it off on his jeans or shirt, but if there was one thing that was pounded into his class when he was a rookie, it was to always keep their uniforms in top shape. It was more than just cloth stitched and woven together, it was a symbol, of their authority, their duties, their positions more importantly they had an image to uphold. Having stains, tears and other such assorted wear and tear would only show a lack of discipline. This wasn't anything new, he had always taken good care of his gear, but in situations like this it was somewhat frustrating. It wasn't as if they were always a few steps away from a public restroom, where he could just simply grab a pawful of paper-towels and pat it off.

Paws down, most of the time when they were on duty, out in the real world instead of being behind the _comfortable_ desk job, they were out in the backend of nowhere, or in the densely populated jungles of the city. With all this in consideration that's exactly where they were now, in a deserted area of the canyon lands, with an immobilized cruiser. Today was definitely appearing to be one of the those… _jolly old swell days_. Wasn't it? One of the tires had overheated and blew, it was forty-four; check that it was forty-six degrees celsius out here in the Canyonlands. His uniform was all sticky and sweaty causing him to pull on it constantly to pry it away from his body. To top it all off his throat was dryer than a bone, mirroring the baked earth around him.

The fox gave out a low growl as the breeze turned into a strong headwind, blasting him with loose soil along with the dried out plants. Throwing his head back in exasperation with a groaning sigh to boot, he trudged back over to the vehicle. Out of sere boredom he gave a loose stone a kick with the tips of his toes, watching it skitter away a few meters before it came to a halt, a wire thin trail scratched into the dirt behind it. Having kicked so many cans, bottles, rocks, stones, including bashing his toes against the most dangerous of living room furniture, coffee tables, he didn't really register any sort of pain down there anymore. In addition to his metatarsal paw pads, though this was to be expected from mammals who walked around bare-pawed all their life. There were boots and shoes but he was a naturist when it came to that, as were most of the inhabitants of Zootopia and the surrounding settlements.

Something that his favorite rabbit officer often tried to forget about him, was that he was a lifelong member of the Mystic Springs Oasis club. Though this wasn't for a lack of trying to get her to join him, every time they had time off and it was his turn to decide what they could do she would refuse. Though he couldn't imagine why. What could be better than lounging out on a hot day in Savannah Central in only their bare fur? A place to escape society, time to themselves, for the majority of the time it was quiet, what wasn't there to like? Though he couldn't force her, they were all entitled to their own opinions, but as he had done in the past he'd get her their eventually. It would just take some planning and some trickery.

Despite the present circumstances, a devilish smirk spread out across his muzzle as he came up with a plan. Though it wasn't to make a day of, so he got his mind back on the task at paw. Ten minutes had passed since he got the jack and the lug wrench out of the trunk of the cruiser. If his partner was here he would already be in the process of getting the spare tire out from under the vehicles, but since he was on his own it was a bit of a challenge. The size of the jack itself came up to his sternum, unhinged too. The wrench was another story entirely, he had nearly taken out one of the rear lights because he had trouble balancing it in both his paws. Though that wasn't the entire reason to why he had gone and taken a break in the shade. Getting the actual tools out had caused an episode of ghost pains to wrack his stomach, leaving him writhing in utter agony on the ground for a good five minutes. It had been almost two weeks since the last one, two weeks since they got back from their vacation.

Not wanting to spend the rest of the afternoon outside in this heat, he pressed a paw against the cruiser, only to let out a hiss. The black coated metal was scorching hot to the touch as he had just discovered. Pulling it away he let out a grumble as he rested on his elbows, crawling underneath the cruiser. When he got beneath the tire, he rolled flat onto his back, the underbelly staring back at him as though in greeting. Shoving a paw into his pocket, he pulled out the ratchet wrench he had taken out of the trunk earlier, along with other various tools and emergency equipment.

"Well, it's just you and me ol' one-seventy-four," he called out as he worked on getting the nuts off. "So, let Slickety Nick take care of all your problems, you just take it easy, hey," he grumbled, finding that it was even hotter beneath the vehicle.

This took a little while longer than he originally hoped it would, as the nuts were all pretty stiff, this being the first time that they had ever come off. Now that he thought about it, they had never had to retrieve the spare, at least since he was with Judy. Then again, she hadn't been the best driver when they were first assigned one-seventy-four. Although these thoughts barely even crossed his mind as he was concentrating on not being crushed from the rubber and metal wheel, that was if he ever got these last remaining restraints off.

His breaths started coming out as pants as his body tried to cool itself down, at this rate he'd pass out. Removing his shades he wiped the sweat out of his eyes and the rest of his fur. Something dark and smudgy was staining his red-fur. Not sure if this was the shade playing tricks on his eyes he crawled out, turning his paw over to look at the back of it. His throat was too parched for him to say anything anymore, also it was just too hot for him to make a fuss about it. His face make be covered in whatever this black stuff was, but nothing was going to change the fact that he still had to retrieve the spare tire.

 _First, fix the car. Second, take nap in car for the rest of the day. Third, home to take a shower and get this crap off._ The reynard thought as he rolled back to where he left the ratchet.

Carrying on from where he left off, his mind became engrossed in the work and the heat. How life had created animals that enjoyed this biome was beyond him, but in truth there was no point to think about it. It was one of Zootopia's many, many, many biomes. Yet it was bigger than others, there were ones that only took up a half dozen blocks or so, such as the many little islands. Nevertheless, they'd still have to patrol and regulate them so there wasn't really any cause to complain, he was the one to fill out the paper work and the applications to be here. It could be better, it always could be better. He could have gone his entire career without being shot, that would have been great. Then there was the constant paperwork, sure he was one of their best officers at filling, sorting, making…..basically anything to do with them he excelled at. Didn't prove that he enjoyed it, just that he was experienced with legal documents and forms.

Latching a tight grip on a nut between his thumb and index pads, he attempted to manually loosen it but it remained stubbornly fixed where it was. Blinking slowly he scowled up at it, and he could have sworn that it twinkled, even with the lack of lighting, if only to tease him. Shaking his head tiredly he figured out what the problem was, seeing that he had removed the six other nuts that held it in place, the remaining two were holding the full weight of the tire. Giving his neck a little twist till it cracked in addition to stretching his legs and arms, he proceeded to scoot himself even further beneath it. With the cross shaped wrench pressed against his chest like a fallen warrior of old, he took in several slow breaths, preparing himself for what was next.

Kicking his rear-paws off the ground he pressed them up into the tire, letting his legs take the weight as he slipped the right end of the wrench into one of the nuts. Giving a few twists he noticed that it was putting up less of a fight then they had been. With a soft sigh he continued removing the last of the fasteners, but when he quickly discovered his mistake, if not a little too late. With a huff he grimaced as the full weight of the seventy-pound tire was pressing down on him, the spot above his tail screaming in protest from numerous rocks jabbing up into him. His vest did little to guard him from that as it stopped around his hips. It wasn't crushing him like many animals would expect it would, he could easily squat and mountain press a hundred and ninety pounds, it was just that he wasn't in a comfortable position to do this.

Tossing his head about, he looked for a solution to get him out of the predicament he had created for himself. The first, natural reaction, was to scream for help, but there wasn't anyone around for miles. It hadn't helped that the animal that had chosen to flee had been in a doom-buggy, which was far better suited for the rocky and sandy terrain of the Canyonlands. Something he'd be bringing up with the chief when they got back was to request that they utilize all-terrain tires that could withstand hotter temperatures. That was, if he got back with the tight spot he was in, quite literally. Resting his head against the hard backed earth, he pressed his metacarpal pads against the tire, after he shoved his cross over his head.

A few options played out in his thoughts. The easiest would be to lower it down to his body, but he honestly didn't feel like getting squished by it. Then there was the option of somehow wiggling his way out from underneath the belly of the cruiser with the tire, but that sounded like too much effort. Also there was option of placing it back in its slot and fastening it back on till he could get some assistance. That also wasn't an option because he had just gotten it off and he'd rather be crushed then doing that all over again. An idea popped to mind, so he decided to go with it as it made the most immediate sense. After gently lowering it to rest on his body he rolled himself partially onto his side, letting it slide away a little. Pressing his paws against the rims he pushed it off of him as he wiggled free.

"Urrhhhhh, and I thought nothing beat Clawhauser's death hugs," he grumbled with a dry voice. "Fuck you tire, fuck you," he accused as he got a grip on it once again, dragging it out from underneath the vehicle, causing plumes of dust to trail behind it, as though it was smoking.

Thinking it to himself, he announced that it was time for another five minute break, but not before he padded over to the driver's side wing mirror. What he found was that his face was covered in black smudges more than likely grease, or maybe oil. He tried wiping it away with a thumb, only to find that it was refusing to come off. Grinning in amusement he nodded his head, seeing that it would require a good soak in the shower, and some vigorous scrubbing at best to get rid of hid facial furs new color. Maybe his mate would find it attractive, who knew with her sometimes.

Thinking of which, where was his favorite bunny in the whole world. Pulling out his phone once again, he found that it had been a good half an hour or so since she left to call in what happened, also to notify the station of the suspect's buggy. He'd have called to check in on her, but their radios were only receiving statically responses, along with that their phones had no signal out here either. Would be the ideal place to be getting up to not so lawful schemes, if it wasn't hotter than hell that was. Seriously, how animals survived living outside here was beyond him. Sure it felt great on the fur for most of the day, but now it felt like he was roasting inside his own body. Didn't help that his fur was darker than his partner's, red and black definitely wasn't the fur to have to be living out here. Lighter shades of gray, brown, black and even silver would be ideal. Or having shorter fur, another trait his wife was gifted with, her downy soft, short gray and white fur.

 _Noooo…..not the time to be thinking about, Carrots. At least like that._ The predator thought bashfully, with a grimace, his body reacting as it started to think about being with his mate in unprofessional ways. The heat was affecting more than his mind, it was affecting the way his body usually reacted. Not wanting to be hot and bothered in more ways than one, he forced his mind away from such ideas as he got to work on getting the jack underneath their cruiser, but that was after the lug nuts. After a few minutes of getting back at the off road repairs he was able to calm himself down, soon forgetting about the entire ordeal as he concentrated on the fixing their police car. The sooner that it was back on four wheels, the better. Seemed they'd have to call it a day and head back to the office. The spare tire was only a replacement, it was only meant to get them back to the station where it could be repaired.

Chief Bogo may have been an accepting and generous prey….in his own way, but he wasn't one to trust civilians working on their vehicles. As such, the ZPD had its own auto bay installed almost twelve years ago with certified officers who were also mechanics. Made sense in the long run if one was to think about it. How hard could it be to sneak into an auto-bay and wire up a police cruiser or any kind of vehicle with explosives. Animals smuggling in drugs had given perfect examples of how far they were willing to go to get their product into cities and across borders. An officer just had to examine a smugglers car, which showed the exact extent they were willing to go. Just replace that with unstable and odorless substances, then have a cellular transmitter as a charge.

 _Con-artist, hustler, lady's man, irresistible to the ladies, sneaky, and to top off my skills. Thinks like a terrorist. HA! Like I really need anyone knowing that._ The predator scolded himself, though he knew that he wasn't wrong in his thinking. It would be so easy to do, it was a possibility that if they arrested the wrong animal, that their gang or friends would try and take revenge. What better revenge then taking out a good chunk of the station, or taking out the entire cruiser pool. Guess this was why they couldn't let their vehicles be repaired by anyone else but the stations mechanics, just for that reason.

The officer thoughts fell silent as he removed the blown tire, then set the spare in its place. A minute grin twitched at the corners of his lips, ten minutes more and he could hop back into the cruiser and cramp up the AC to cool off. It wasn't only this, but they'd be able to head back to the station for the rest of the day. The mechanics would want to give one-seventy-four a thorough examination, in addition to replacing the other three tires, as it was about time that they be replaced. Downside to all of this was having to fill out paperwork since they couldn't just laze about at the station, though it was a small price to pay when they'd be in a building with such great air conditioning. Knowing her well enough by now, he knew his mate wouldn't be happy about it, then again she enjoyed being out in the field then behind a desk.

After the substitute tire was fastened back into place, and the blown one shoved into the suspect transport enclosure, the predator pulled himself up into the driver's seat. With a quick twist of the key the rumbling of the cruiser's engine greeted his knife-shaped ears making them flick back as they adapted to the noise. Hopefully his rabbit officer wouldn't mind that the tire was in the back seat, or as he commonly referred them to, cruiser cages. A while back, when he was fresh to the department, he had attempted to get everyone to use his terminology. It would be so much simpler to use a shorter name or just abbreviate it, but not a single cop had picked up on it. Bogo had only groaned after hearing it, which earned him a couple days working alongside the officers who dealt with records, a punishment of sorts.

That was the way that they got along at the station, ragging on one another when things weren't serious and often playing small office jokes. Though what they usually did to pass the time was setting up betting pools for just about anything. Which team was going to win in one of the many sports, the weather, who was going to make the most arrests, who'd win in the sparring matches at the gym, relationships. The oddest one that he had put his own money into was who was the biggest slacker. More of a joke than anything else, but he won, getting a good four hundred bucks out of it. There was also who was the hardest hard ass about their job, Judy had won that easily, though the chief definitely came in a close second, he came in third. However that was only because he was often a step behind her, no matter the peril that was lurking behind the corner for them. It was better for both of them at the end of the day, since she was still a little oblivious in the city, growing up in the country didn't do her a whole load of justice though.

Speaking of which, his mate had just opened the passenger door, crawling up into the cruiser, her breaths coming out raggedly, perspiration clinging to her fur. Not saying a word she shoved a water-bottle over to him, he took it gratefully with a curt nod before drowning down a couple mouthfuls. Relief instantly came to him as his parched throat was drenched with the semi-cold water. The other officer had unscrewed the top of her own bottle, taking small sips at it as her breathing hadn't quite calmed down. The lapin must of felt his eyes on her because she sent a skeptical glance at him, to which he replied with a smirk, topping it off with an eyebrow popping up from behind a lens. Holding up a finger, she took a couple more sips at her water, taking deeper breaths to calm herself. Only after this did she finally open her mouth to say something.

"I ran…thought you'd need a-a…drink," she sputtered, closing her eyes tiredly, a few beads of sweat rolling over her left lid.

"Thanks, Carrots," the vulpine pushed the console back, scooting over to the lapin, before adding, "Was dying out there waiting for you," he pressed his muzzle against her temple, giving her a loving lick, adding a little kiss as well.

"You're welcome, Scruffy," she pressed herself into his side, prompting his arm to wrap itself around her middle, his padded paw picking up on how hot she was.

"You should slip out of your uniform for a bit," he suggested, only getting a questioning look from her.

"Ohhhh, nooo!" she smiled in amusement. "I'm not as gullible as you think, Mr. Wilde," she chuckled.

"I'm serious, Darling," he smiled down at her lazily. "You're rather hot right now."

"I just ran five kilometers! Honestly my paws are killing me."

"Don't you worry you're little unimaginative mind about it, I'll take care of that when we get home."

"Of course you will," she said as though it wasn't even up for debate, but she changed the topic as she traced a paw over his chest. "You're uniforms a mess…so are you actually," her amethysts roamed from his clothes up to his face, for the first time noticing the state it was in. "How….how did you get oil on your face?"

"Well I was rather busy getting the spare on while you were out and about enjoying nature. One of us had to work," she smirked as she leant down, nuzzling her affectionately.

"And you're uniform?"

"Had to get underneath the cruiser to get the tire," she didn't need to know about his little episode. "So how were things on your end, did you contact the station?"

"Yep, they wanted us to call to in if we needed someone to come get us, or if we fixed it. Also they caught the animal, drove straight into Fangmeyer and Delgato when Clawhauser was giving out the description and plates to the officers in the close facility."

"Hmmmm. Now, all we got to do is get our tails back to the station. Don't think the chief would like us being out here with a damaged cruiser."

The shorter mammal nodded in agreement, her eyes having closed once again, resting them for a few moments. Ten minutes went by, only for the other officer to realize that his wife was slowly starting to doze off. Her muzzle was twitching into an almost unnoticeable smile, her ears laid back completely, her little pink nose twitching occasionally. One of her paws was balled up into his shirt, pulling her face further into the material, a soft purr coming from her. Rolling his eyes in mock-annoyance, he tightened the arm he had around her, not daring to try and wake her up. She'd hadn't been able to sleep much last night, for one reason or another her body had been over-tired, refusing to let her doze off until the early hours of the morning. A solid hour power snooze would help her get through the rest of the day, so he let her be.

Having effectively fallen asleep against his side, quarter of an hour having gone passed. His thoughts had been wondering onto other, less important matters, all the while he had been sipping at his drink. Smiling to himself, he pulled the seat belt over the rabbit before he scooted himself back over to the driver's side. Pulling the emergency break out, and shifting them into drive, he concentrated on the road ahead, not rushing to get them back to the station. His emeralds gave a brief glance over to his partner, whose chin was resting on the top of her breast, head shaking slightly as they went over bumps and pots in the road, yet he still slept on. Smiling fondly the male tore his gaze away, it wouldn't look all that great on his next report to explain why he had somehow managed to crash the cruiser on an empty back-road.

 _It's only fourteen-hundred, definitely going to be a long day, isn't it, Fluffbut?_ The older animal asked his partner in his thoughts, sparing the unconscious doe a glance. _You bunny's full of so much energy only to crash so early in the day._

 _A few hours later…_

The fox officer's prediction had been proven to be true, yet this was reason to celebrate. Due to reasons out of their control, they had been on paper-cut detail ever since they had arrived back to the station. On the upside side of their situation, the chief had only given them a small amount to work on, as he needed them filled out before they clock out at the end of their shift. Then again, it also felt like a punishment, he'd rather be monitoring the buildings security footage, maybe even helping in an interrogation or two. That wasn't the case for his partner or him. Their skills were being put up against the risk of cutting themselves on sharp paper, or that was what the buffalo deemed as putting them to use. Considering that he had been assigned this duty for an entire weak once, all due to him voicing his complaint to his superior, the fox was in no rush to do it again. Ever if he could help it.

Having been at it for a solid two hours alongside his partner, he had taken it upon himself to go get them something to drink from one of the stations many vendors. A couple ice cold snarlbucks would definitely be fitting with how hot it was today. A coffee, maybe a snack as well would more than likely get them through the rest of the afternoon. The tod might as well go chat with Clawhauser while he was at it. There were only a half dozen reports left in the stack he had been given, might as well relax a little from all the hard work. This wasn't the only reason he had to pay their friend a visit, though it was the leading one. He had his fingers crossed that the larger predator had some donuts left over from the box he had gotten that morning. Hopefully he had a blueberry jammed filled one along with a glazed donut with carrot shredding on the top of it. They never really had to ask him, as he had a particular distaste for them, but there was some competition as their fellow officers enjoyed them just as much as they.

If there were any then that would be great, if there were and they were all gone then no matter. After the events that had played out earlier in the day, he had no real desire to be rushing about the place. As such, he cast his eyes down onto the screen of his phone, letting his hind-paws guide him to the main foyer of the station. However, he didn't know why he had bothered as most of the emails he had received were only adds and junk mail. The predator had received a few texts and messages from some of his friends, most though were just notifications from furbook and tweeter. Swiping them away from his notification bar, he answered the texts and messages, he'd look through what his other friends posted on their accounts later, or he'd get dragged into.

Having not pulled his attention away from his phone for the last several minutes, it came as no real surprise that he walked straight into some-animal. Whoever it was they must have been considerably larger than him, since he took a few wobbly steps back. After he placed his phone back in his jean's pocket he looked up, only to be met by an amused smirk from a familiar officer.

"Come on Nick, keep your eyes up before you break something," Lance chuckled, casting his lightening blue eyes down at the shorter mammal.

"I was Officer Stalkerson, you just happened to be in the way," Nick shot back, realizing that they were by the main receptionist desk. Peering upwards he noticed that the big cat himself was looking down at him with a grin. Smiling back he waved a paw at the still considered rookie accusingly.

"Kids these days, think they can just lounge about wherever they want."

"Oh lay off me old timer, I was just standing here minding my own business before you ran into me, interrupting our conversation. Ain't I right, Ben?"

""I have to agree with Lance on this one," the cheetah spoke through his smile.

"Ohhhh, I get it. Time to pick on the little predator," he leaned against the desk, his finger interlacing in a business manner. "So what's the word, have our guests finally gotten off our steps or they still bumming around out there?"

"Not too sure, I haven't bothered to see, and I don't really want to. Not since someone here leaked out who all the interspecies officers are," the lupine yawned, sneaking a paw closer and closer to the momentarily unguarded donut box. Before the older of the three males could push himself off the desk in order to go check out what was going on outside, a large yellow paw grabbed onto his shoulder.

"Ummmmm, I'm pretty sure you don't want to go out ther…."

"IN-ANIMAL! A DISEASE, ONE THAT MUST BE CURED. INTERSPECIES CANNOT BE ALLOWED TO THRIVE IN ZOOTOPIA, IT IS OUR DUTY AS CITIZENS TO PUT A STOP TO THIS SIN!

"Great!" the wolf mumbled, his red furred tipped ears shooting up. "They got the damn megaphone out again," he turned away from the entranceway.

"I really didn't want another headache, you think they'll try coming in again?" the felidae asked as he covered his paws over his pointy little ears.

"Well, after we kindly escorted them out last time they invited themselves in, uhhh no," Nick chuckled, remembering that they had some officers in riot gear….it had been an interesting morning that day.

"HOW CAN WE TRUST THE CITY COUNCIL? HOW CAN WE TRUST THE POLICE, WHO WE TRUST TO PROTECT OUR SOCIETY AND UPHOLD THE VIRTUES OF IT? HOW CAN WE DO THIS IF THEY HARBOR SUCH HORRIFIC ACTS AGAINST NAUTE? WE CANNOT! INTERSPECIES IS A WHERE THE DOWNFALL OF SOCIETY BEGINS, IT IS NOTHING MORE THAN FETISH THAT HAS CARRIED OUT FOR TOO LONG! JOIN US TO DRIVE OUT SUCH FILTH FROM ZOOTOPIA!

"They better not come in here again, or I'm going to throw a tear gas…." Lance was cut off from the amplified voice. The other two officer's eyes widened as he slammed his head against the desk.

"IF WE ALLOW THIS TO CONTINUE IT WILL ENDANGER OUR WAY OF LIFE! IT WILL DESTROY EVERYTHING WE HOLD DEAR! THIS IS WHY SPECIES SUCH AS THE TASMANIAN TIGER HAVE GONE EXTINCT! BECAUSE OF INTERSPECIES!"

"Please for all that is fucking sacred, shut the fuck up," the still considered to be rookie groaned out. "You're giving every-animal around here a migraine."

IF WE DON'T STOP IT, THEN IT WILL STOP US, THE CITIZENS OF ZOOTOPIA FROM HAVING CHILDREN, FROM FINDING MATES AMONGST OUR OWN KIND! MUCH LIKE A BUG, IT MUST BE CRUSHED UNDERNEATH OUR PAWS AND HOOFS, IT MUST END! WE CANNOT TOLERATE…..NO WE CAN NO LONGER ALLOW SUCH HEINOS ACTS SUCH AS THIS TO GO ON! A VIRUS, IT IS A VIRUS! A VIRUS MUST BE ERADICATED!"

The three predators eyebrows rose a degree when the crowd started shouting and chanting words that they had all become accustomed to hearing these last few weeks. Even though it wasn't anything original, it still surprised them how much hate there was out there.

"MUST BE ERADICATED!"

"INTERSPECIES IS THE WRONG SPECIES!"

"NO MORE, NO MORE, IT MUST BE CURED!"

"INTERSPECIES IS THE WRONG SPECIES!"

"ERADICATION IS THE ONLY WAY TO CURE THIS DISEASE!"

The vulpine rolled his eyes to this, if this was the best they could do then they had nothing to worry about. As long as they didn't try ramming a vehicle through the front door, or undertaking any other forms of violence, they could yell all they want. Albeit, it was easier said than done to simply ignore it. The shape of the foyer projected the animal's voice, the sound bouncing off the walls for the officers closest to the foyer to hear. Yesterday when they had been at it, his partner and him could hear it from their office cubicle. If this carried on till next week he was going to purchase some noise cancelling headphones. Clawhauser wasn't the only one getting headaches from the constant hue and cry from the Anti-Interspecies league or whatever they were.

"They've been at this for almost three whole fucking weeks!" the younger of the three animals muffled shouted into the desk. "Are you sure we can't use excessive force to remove them from the premise?"

"Not unless they become violent or start trying to harass animals into getting violent, if they were to say start threatening to….." the cheetah paused as there was a deafening roar of approval, the speech having taken more vigor and gusto as he went on, the chanting growing still even louder. "…..well maybe if they started threatening to bomb or do Interspecies couples harm, or insinuate that kind of stuff."

"Sure, sure, but we can't do anything till they've actually done something, right?" The fox officer inquired.

"That's about right, Wilde," a deep and gruff voice confirmed, the three predators whipped their attention to the cape buffalo, who had somehow or another snuck up on them.

"GOD AND GODS WILL PUNISH THEM FOR THEIR SINS! WE ONLY WISH TO SHOW THESE SINNERS THE WRONGS THEY HAVE COMMITTED!"

"Sir, how long are we going to have to put up with this?" the lupine threw out, sounding desperate for any kind of solution. "Really, they might as well be screaming Hial Hitler at this rate," he added.

"Till they lose interest, Stalkerson. They're protected to peacefully assemble and protest, those are the rights that animals are given," the chief grumbled, his tail whipping behind him irritably, having answered that question for what felt like the millionth time now. "Don't let this distract you from your duties, do you get me?"

"Yes, Sir," the prey nodded, sympathetic to how his officers were feeling about this, especially the ones who were with animals outside their species. His attention roamed over the three officers, before settling on the fox.

"WE MUST MAKE THIS ACT OF SIN ILLEGAL, MAKE ANIMALS AFRAID OF THE IDEA! FEAR IS THE ONLY WAY TO MAKE THESE ANIMALS SEE THAT THEY ARE WRONG!"

"How are those reports coming along?" he inquired, his second shortest officer, at least in his precinct; all the while completely ignoring what was being screamed at the station

"Chief, stop worrying so much, I'll have them on your desk before I clock out tonight."

"Make sure that they are. I need that missing animals report on Mr. Thylac….we better hope this isn't another Missing Animals Case, five last week, and I've been notified that another ones gone missing today, right out of the Meadowland District," he grumbled, stressing how important these reports were to the officer.

"I understand, Sir," the prey raised an eyebrow, not often did the tod refer his superior to this title, not unless it was serious. Wanting to know more about the situation he pressed, "How many is that now?"

"ALL CRIMES MUST BE ACCOUNTED FOR AND PUNISMENT DELIVERED! IS THAT NOT WHAT THE LAW HAS TAUGHTER US, THAT NO CRIME WILL NOT UNDERGO PUNISHMENT? THEN WHY HASN'T THIS? I ASK YOU MY FRIENDS, WHY MUST WE SUFFER TO GO ON WITH THIS? WE SHOULDN'T!"

"There are eight missing animals, five from the predator family and three prey. We were notified of one Tuesday morning at the Docks District."

"I'd bet our guests have something to do with it," the chief glared at him warningly. "It was that minx wasn't it?" he changed the topic.

"If you mean the one we found butchered and stuffed into weighted down trash bags, then yes," the chief leaned against the front desk, spreading his arms out behind him, letting out a sigh.

"Any clue if night howlers was involved, Chief?" Clawhauser inquired, having come back from performing some check in with the officers in the field, along with dispatching some units to various locations that needed assistance or to check out some reported disturbances.

"None. I've already confronted the mayor about this, but he's as clueless as us. I have Officers Packster and Kingsten keeping an tabs on him."

"No!" the cheetah hissed, catching the buffalo and fox's attention. The wolf pulled his paw away from the donut box with grimace etched onto his expression, though he tried to negotiate with the donut loving officer.

"LET'S NOT FORGET THAT THE POLICE HIRE CRIMINALS INTO THEIR RANKS! NICHOLAS P. WILDE, A CON-ARTIST AND A FOX NO LESS! WHY SHOULD WE LET THESE ANIMALS SET THE LAWS WE LIVE BY!"

"Come on Benny, just let me take that custard filled one, no one likes them anyways."

"You've already had one today," the receptionist brandished a metal ruler at the younger officer, scowling at him.

"But I got that one for Shannon, why can't I have one," he whined.

"Lance, don't make me whack you up the head with this," he was beating his paw with the flat side of the measurement stick.

"Fine, geeze, I'll just go get myself a pastry," without another word he padded over to one of the vendors.

"Do you guys want one? Nick I have your and Judy's favorite," he offered as he pulled the box over.

"WE DEMAND JUSTICE, YOU HEAR US CHIEF BOGO! WE DEMAND THAT YOU ANSWER FOR YOUR CRIMES. YOU HAVE ALLOWED OUR CITY TO BE TAKEN OVER BY THESE REPULSIVE MAMMALS!"

"Yes please, Ben," the yellow-furred predator nodded, grabbing a couple napkins to place the glazed treats on.

"No problem," the habitually jovial predator smiled happily. "Chief, I have a chocolate covered grass one still, if you're interested."

"I'll take that," the chief plucked it out of the box himself, taking a nibble at it.

"So how's the diet going?" Mr. Wilde questioned, the big cat having told his partner and him about this a month ago.

"It's going," the cheetah's ears lowered a fraction, his muzzle turning into a slight frown, eyes taking a glance at the donut box guiltily. "I've cut back on everything, a lot, so I've lost twenty pounds," he mumbled.

"That's great," he took on an optimistic attitude, understanding how difficult it was for his friend.

"JOIN US, AND WE CAN RESTORE ZOOTOPIA TO WHAT IT SHOULD BE! A CITY OF HOPE, A CLEAN CITY, OPEN TO ONLY THE PURE!"

"You think so?" his ears perked back up, his tail swishing behind him excitedly.

"You're doing well, Clawhauser, stop beating yourself up so much about it," the prey gave one of his rare encouraging smiles, the donut having been eaten a few minutes ago, as was the foxes.

"Just keep at it and you'll be dancing up with Gazzelle and her strip tigers in no time," the buffalo tried to snort back a laugh, but couldn't stop himself from chuckling.

"They're backup dancers," Ben whined out desperately, having gone over this with him many times before.

"Sure, and I'm a backup dancer when Judy and I are alone," Clawhauser blushed noticeably, covering his mouth with a paw.

"I did not need that image in my head, Wilde," the chief groaned out mournfully.

"Alright we've had fun and all but I have to get back to work, and get this to the boss."

"ALL THOSE WHO TAKE TO SUCH DISGUSTING LIFESTYLES WILL BE PUNISHED!"

The fox officer gave them a finger salute with his fingers, before he made his way to one of the vendors. After getting a snarlbucks carrocoffee and a plain vanilla one for himself, oddly enough they didn't sell any berry orientated ones. However this mattered little as he navigated his way through the station to the office his partner shared with hi, considering that it was big enough for an elephant to be comfortable. This being the case, officer's that were of their height weren't allowed to have one to themselves, which was just fine by them.

As he walked back into the office, he noticed that it was vacant of a certain bunny. With a slight _oh well_ shrug he put the donut and drink on her side of their desk. Sitting down in his chair he let out a groan of relief as he finally got off his metatarsal paws, which were killing him from walking on the scoring hot earth earlier. Blinking a few times and after cracking his neck his attention fell onto the dark screen of his laptop. Shaking the mouse pad woke it up, what greeted him was the blank pre-made report, all the lines, waiting for him to put in the required information. Since his break had been longer than a quarter of an hour he didn't dawdle on getting straight back to work, the prospect of having to stay in late driving him to stay focused.

Ten minutes into the report his keen ears didn't pick up on the sound of someone walking into the office. His usually sensitive nose not even registering the other animal's scent, as he was absolutely engrossed in what he was doing though it was as interesting as paint drying. The only sounds that he was able to hear were the clicking and clacking of the computers keys as his fingers seemingly danced across them. The only thing his nose could pick up on was the lemon-scented surface cleaner, although it was rather faint, no surprise since it was applied by the janitors the night before.

Everything came to a halt when he felt a pair of arms circle themselves around his middle. An unnoticeable smile tugged at the corners of his muzzle as he sat up in his chair, reaching a paw behind him so it could touch his mate. His ears twitched as they caught the quiet breaths leaving her nose his own twitching when it got a whiff of her scent. He shut his eyes when he felt the soft fur of her right cheek, thumb immediately running itself through her fur. To this day he could never get over how truly soft the rabbit's fur was. A chuckle broke the otherwise silent cubicle, this was due to the rabbit affectionately nuzzling her muzzle against his, soft purring filled his ears, though he didn't know whom it belonged to.

"What are you doing, Hon?" the reynard breathed.

"Hugging you, what does it look like," Judy shot back, an obvious smile in her tone.

"You could be strangling me, though I have to admit if you are, it's a rather sorry attempt," her muzzle trailed down to the side of his neck, where she started to lick and nip, the incisors making him squirm where he sat. He had seen what they could do to a raw carrot, frozen or otherwise, if she wanted she could easily put a fairly impressive cavity into him.

"Hmmmm, as fun as that sounds, I'd rather keep you alive," she teased, giving a final sharp nip and loving lick before pulling away. Turning around in his chair he watched her make her way over to her side of the desk.

"Thanks," she smiled as she noticed the drink and snack.

"You're welcome, Fluff Butt," the vulpine rubbed a rear paw against one of hers, getting her to roll her eyes, but she smiled none the less. "Now where did you get off to, hmmmm? I was all alone without my little stuffed animal," their little game of pawsie was stopped when she pushed his paw away with her free one.

"One of the rookies needed help printing a report out."

The rabbit stated, waking up her own computer as it had gone to sleep from being inactive for fifteen minutes or so. The tod hummed to this, his attention having slowly been drawn back to the report, there were seven left. He had miscounted earlier, also there was still the report of that missing animal to put together and hand in to Bogo. Judy opened her mouth to say something, taking her amethyst eyes off of the screen, though she thought better of it as she saw how focused her husband was. Not wanting to distract either of them, her attention returned back to the reports, understanding that anymore distractions would end up keeping them here later than they'd want to be. Instead, she started caressing one of his rear paws with her one of her padless ones. He purred softly, this being the only reaction, except for when he looked up at her with his lazy smile, his emerald eyes locking onto her amethyst for a brief moment.

 _Sometime around twenty-hundred..._

Half an hour, time which on other days seemed to miraculously slip through their paws without their notice, much like how one would try to hold onto wisps of smoke. This often than not was due to the reason that it was filled with work, or by much more pleasant off-duty activities. The time that had passed by since they were notified of what had transpired, had gone by painstakingly slow, as if everything had slowed down, time seemingly had stopped. Twenty or so minutes of that half an hour were spent navigating the hectic roads of the city. Even with their cruisers lights flashing and their siren blaring, it seemed to make no difference for the two officers. Every second felt like an hour, every minute ticking by like an eternity, their minds left to a whirlwind of conflicting emotions and thoughts.

The predators eyes were trained on the road, his face avoid of all emotion, his cynical mind already coming to the worst case scenario. His attention would occasionally glance over to his wife, her expression was pale, her amethyst gems settled on the dashboard, never before had he seen her so out of it. Yet again, never before had she had to face a situation like this before. Nothing he could say or do could reassure her, because he couldn't even do that for himself. How could one ever expect it to happen, much less have to pick up the pieces, try and move on from it all.

The officer's eyes caught glimpses of everyday life unfolding right outside their cruiser. A beautiful evening, the sun was just setting, the clouds turning brilliant shades of reds, pinks, purples, greens and oranges, even hints of yellows. From the short time they had been outside from the station to the garage, there was a cool, light, breeze. If things had been different he would have suggested they take a stroll at one of the parks or stretch out on the grass and watch the stars tonight. Though this wasn't the case, them cruising along the road, dodging obstacles and weaving in and out of lanes of traffic proved as much. Whatever plans they had once had earlier were forgotten, replaced by a shared apprehension of what was awaiting them, along with a state of shock.

Half an hour ago, Clawhauser had called their cubicle, his voice wavering with emotions that he couldn't quite put his finger on. Though at first he had taken the report as a joke, thinking that their fellow officers were trying to get a reaction out of them. That was until the Chief had called his partner's phone, something he had never done. In the time that it took to get from the station to their destination it felt like an eternity had gone by for them, or at for the tod. His mate may have felt differently, seemingly seconds having gone by for her while he was trapped with time ticking by agonizingly slow.

When they arrived, they parked their vehicle in a vacant spot in the garage, hurriedly locking it down before they sprinted off to the connected apartment complex. As they drew closer and closer to a place that had grown so familiar to their accustomed day to day, dread started welling up inside them.

"No...no...no...no, no, no."

The rabbit officer started to plead, the truth staring them straight in the eyes as the distance between the crime scene grew smaller and smaller. Both having broken out of their made sprint till their steps came hesitantly, not wanting to their fears to be confirmed. As if delaying their arrival to the destination would delay the truth. The fox shared the same sentiments as his partner, yet he had lost his voice once he saw the other police officers standing outside of what was now a crime scene.

Nick's emeralds painfully tore themselves away from what awaited them only a few meters away. They turned to Judy, seeing that her chest was rising and falling heavily, her eyes brimming with tears, ears laid back all the way. She appeared to be so helpless, so fragile, as if she were made of glass, as if the slightest touch would shatter the resolve that she still clung to. A solid lump settled in his throat, his ears laying themselves against his skull, his fur flattening itself against his body. He took in unstable, shallow, breaths. The twinkle in his emeralds having faded away as they scanned over the destruction that he could see from where he was standing. His hind-paws led him to the threshold, where he stopped, becoming as still as a statue, his expression unreadable to his mate as all she could see was his back. Closing his eyes he tried to will this away, as though this was just a nightmare. Opening them only revealed the cold truth, that the carnage that was laid bare for them, was once their home.

* * *

 **HI: That was a rather sad ending to this chapter? Broke my heart to put the two of them through this, but I wanted to do something different with this story. Nothing really hits someone then coming home and finding it vandalized. A place that you share with loved ones or a place you go at the end of the day to feel secure. Nick and Judy are going through a difficult time as we can all clearly tell from what just happened. Please tell me in a review how I did with this chapter, or in a PM. I understand that this chapter took several different turns, but that's life for us. We never know what to expect what's coming next, this was one of those unexpected events that come up. Hope that Nick and Judy will be able to pull through this one, right? Seriously guys, don't come at me with pitchforks and torches, I don't enjoy putting these two through this grief.**

 **Right onto the rest of this, but it is short because I am rather exhausted from working all day on stuff. Also, there's not much to really say. So to kick us off, I've gotten private messages from a number of you guys who read this author's notes. Seems like a lot of you are excited for this Zistopia story that I plan on writing, and I have to say that I am as well. Haven't really put anything on paper yet, but I've been coming up with some rather interesting ideas for this story and where to take it. I won't say much because I don't want to ruin it for you guys. I just hope that all of you guys will join me on that journey.**

 **That's about it on my end. This is Reverend Archangel signing off, wishing you all a good rest of the weekend, rest of the week, month and so on. Please send me a PM if something doesn't add up in this chapter, or that for some reason there's a large section missing. Fanfiction seems to keep on doing this to my chapters, hmmmmm wonder why though. Either way, post a review to tell me how I did, a PM. Please send this out to your friends or folk that you think will be interested in this story. You guys have helped make this story as popular as it is. Thanks you guys, you rock. I'm glad that you're enjoying this story and I hope that you continue reading my work. Night you guys, hope you enjoyed chapter twenty, so many to come still.**

 **P.S. Please give credit to red-velvet-panda for the new cover image of this story. I added some tweaks to it, but the credit is all his for the art. I felt that it matched the story better than the original. If any of you are an artist and want to do some art for this story I'd love to see it.**


	21. Shattered Memories

_**Chapter XXI**_

 _ **Shattered Memories**_

Judy took a few steps back, her long gray furred ears perking up as they caught the sound of something crunching underneath her rear-paws. Glancing to the carpeted floor only confirmed the thoughts that were rushing through her head. Before picking up the remains of the picture frame, she leaned up against a wall, turning her paws over to examine them for any traces of blood or cuts. This carried on for a few minutes, in which she ran a finger over the spots her rear-paw coverings didn't protect, which were her three toes believe it or not. Of all places that it didn't cover, it was there. Then again she had never had an incident with this, though as her partner always reminded her, there was always the opportunity for a first time. But this was hardly a time or place to be thinking of such trivial, irrelevant things, especially since it was their apartment that had been broken into.

Bending over, she pulled the wooden casing from the floor, though it was barely holding together since the left frame had been rendered into splinters. The pane of glass was in no better condition, appearing as if an animal had smashed it with a baseball bat or some other implement. Whatever had been used, the results were still the same, whatever had been underneath was hidden from the impact breakage, though a few shards had come loose, cause to why she had stepped on some glass a few minutes prior. Letting out a soft sigh, as this wasn't the first one that she had stumbled across, she turned it over, slipping the image out from the back. Throwing the frame back to the floor, she flipped the photo over, her mood falling even further, if that was possible.

The moment that the picture had captured was of her and her husband, on the day of their wedding day. No dress or suit for either of them, instead they had agreed on using their ceremonial uniforms, the ones they had used in their graduation and other such rare occasions. The image was clear, which was surprising since her mate had done it one handed, his other arm had been encircled around her waist. Her face was pressed against his, both of them wearing wide smiles as they were delirious with immeasurable amounts of joy. She traced a thumb over the places where their uniforms were reflecting the light of the court house. Regardless of the present situation, a weak smile still escaped her, eyes brimming with fond tears. This all could have been avoided if they simply stayed friends, but she wouldn't give up what her husband and her had for the world.

Padding lightly around the shards of glass, the rabbit continued searching what was left of their bedroom. Though there wasn't much point as there was barely a single possession that hadn't been violated in the break in. As of this moment, it hadn't been confirmed if anything had been stolen, a majority of what they owned had been more or less destroyed or marred in some shape or form. It was clear that the only intention that the intruders had was to destroy their home, which they had succeeded quite well in. Everything from the picture she was still holding in her paw to the possessions that they held dearly to their hearts had been ruined. Though it could be said that a great deal of it were Nicks, in turn hers as they now shared it all. Seeing as she had only come to Zootopia with a single bag of luggage four year…..almost five years ago. Not much had been added to that besides clothes, towels, bedding, a small box of movies, her uniforms, and even a few pieces of jewelry; though her mate had bought her most of them, mainly for their anniversaries.

Thinking of her partner, the doe glanced behind her to the door that led to the rest of the apartment. He was performing a sweep of the rest of the house where the other officers were undergoing their investigation. They had no authority over this matter as they weren't officially allowed to be involved as this was pertained to them. This wasn't to say that they couldn't point things out to the animals working on this case. It was the laws and the codes of conduct they had to follow as law enforcers; it was similar to when her partner had been shot, she wasn't permitted to assist in it because she was too close to him. With that being said, they shouldn't even be allowed to be collecting anything from their home, as it was all in a way, evidence. The one solitary reason why they hadn't been blocked from entering was because the chief was overseeing this personally.

Baring in mind that her partner and her were overstepping regulations, the rabbit hurried up in her search, placing the things that had seemingly been untouched into a pack. Bogo had shown his sympathies and was letting them break procedures to do what they were doing, it would be best not to hang around. No one could say this was particularly painless; how could anyone? Sorting through the remnants of everything they had worked so hard to earn, the things they cherished, now left ruined. Items such as kitchenware, tools, some pieces of furniture, and even the windows and doors caused pangs of grief to course through the doe's chest. Not because they held any significance, it just upset her to see the extent of these animal's ferocity went, leaving her to imagine what they would have to them if they were here. It was an unpleasant trail of thought, so she quickly forced her mind on the current task; collecting up everything that was still in one piece to take with them.

Their bedroom had gone through the same amount of abuse as the rest of the apartment, the bed specifically. The covers had ripped to shreds along with the pillows and their casings, the wooden headboard had been turned into a splintery mess, as though it had an argument with a sledgehammer; if the circular holes in the wall were anything to go off of. Then there was the frame, which was titling to the side from having the fore and back legs smashed out. None of it was worth retrieving, including the mattress which had been sliced open, the stuffing having been torn and thrown about the room. The bedside tables hadn't even gotten through it, the draws being pulled out of them, then seemingly hurled at the walls. A few things had survived from them, such as her jewelry and their medals.

Beyond that, what hadn't survived were some of the pictures of them, the window had the couch smashed and thrown through it, along with the dining room table. Their various uniforms they had discovered in the washing machine, torn up and lit on fire, before going through a rinse cycle. Various articles of their clothing had also shared the same fate, but with the dryer, having been doused with the few bottles of wine they were saving for special occasions, or romantic evenings. Many of the books they had collected over the years, Nick longer than her because he had lived in the city his entire life had been shredded, or thrown into the oven and set ablaze, nothing but ash and smoldering cinders. Everything in the fridge and freezer had ended up across the carpeted and tiled floors, the ceiling as well. To say that majority of what they owned was destroyed would be an understatement, so their two luggage bags were full, now relying on their packs. It had taken a good thirty boxes from her partner's storage container to furnish their apartment to feel like a home.

The rabbit officer walked away from the cupboard, pulling out a few coats and sweaters, which had been forgotten, nothing else worth rescuing was left now in their bedroom. Only fifteen of the fifty or so pictures they had put up in frames or thumb tacked had been in one piece, even the ones of her and her family were ruined, the same with her partners. The small collection of gems the fox had started way before meeting her, had all been smashed into fine pebbles. This was the reason why he had stormed out of their bedroom twenty minutes ago, claiming that he was going to search the rest of the apartment, but she had noticed him wiping at the tears at his eyes. They may have seemed to be ordinary stones, but one of his grandfathers had helped him start that collection, who had passed seven years ago, a way for him to remember his relative.

As the female officer was about to turn and leave the room, her foot landed on something soft, that didn't exactly belong to the carpet. Pulling her foot away, she stared down at the gray stuffed animal, seeing that it was a rabbit. Her nose twitched curiously, as she didn't recognize this as one of her stuffed animals, all of which had been kept safe since she had hid them in her luggage bag. Her husband had made fun of her still having to sleep with them when he had originally moved in with her, a short few weeks before the academy. It wasn't the mean kind of teasing she had gotten from some of her sister and brothers around her age, more playful teasing. It was also difficult to share a bed with them when they had started sleeping together as most couples did. Shaking these wandering thoughts off she inspected the cute little stuffed animal closely, only to find that on the back of the blue shirt it was wearing it had _Nicky P. Wilde_ sewn into it. Placing it in her pack, the officer reminded herself to give it to him when they had found somewhere to settle in for the night.

Taking a last look over, the doe came to the conclusion that whatever they had forgotten that was still retrievable would more than likely be collected by the investigation teams. Once it was no longer deemed a crime scene, they'd also be back to collect the few things that hadn't been demolished by the criminals, whoever they might be. Her nose twitched as she picked up the faint smell of burnt clothes and paper coming from the other side of the house, causing her ears to become increasingly more droopy. But it wasn't the smell, or the constant visual reminders that their apartment had been practically razed.

What did this was seeing her mate slouching over in one of the few chairs that hadn't been broken, holding his head in his paws. His emerald pools staring down at a pile of CDs and records, which had all been thrown into a pile and quite clearly stomped on. The CD player had been smashed into the vinyl player, along with the I-pod docking station. It was hard enough going through their home, seeing the carnage that the intruders had created all because of fun, cruelness, or gods knows what other reasons they held. But seeing the predator that was both her friend and husband like this, with a look of such defeat and sorrow, it felt as though her heart was being clawed out of her chest.

Most days she could only wonder how he could be pulling jokes at the seemingly worst times, the sarcastic remarks he'd give, or how he'd be smiling even when they were in the mist of absolute chaos. Was it his way of managing his emotions so he wouldn't show weakness? Maybe it was all down to his secretive nature? After being married to him for two years, another animal would expect mates to know one another better than this. Besides that, she had known him for half a decade, yet there were still a lot of things she didn't know about him. This being the case, it often made handling situations such as these…..well difficult. She didn't know how to approach him when he was like this! One of the leading causes to their arguments was him closing himself off to her, not vocally, or physically, more along the lines of emotionally; at least regarding when he was stressed or hurting, or just fed up with it all.

Fastening her eyes tightly shut, the lapin forced back her emotional side, one of them had to be strong tonight, and it wasn't her partner who had lost his composure quite a pawful of times. After breathing out a heavy breath through her nose, she padded over to her mate, his ears and nose the only things registering her presence as they twitched. Some of the other officers looked up from what they were doing, giving various nods of acknowledgement, a few smiling at her with sympathetic eyes. Another tally they could add to their wall, being the first officers in the last fifteen years to have their home vandalized, for Zootopia anyways.

Having stood at the fox's side for the last minute or so without a single word passing between them, the rabbit was about to break the silence when finally.

"My great-great grandfather brought these over from DeutschStag when he moved to Zootopia," the tod's voice was soft, but audible enough to hear clearly, he waved a paw over the ruined vinyl collection.

"He gave them to me when I turned twenty-three…..twenty-four," he nodded, to himself. "They…they were the only things that he gave me…to remember him by. I can sti…..still remember sitting with him and my great-great grandmother in their living room…..listening to the music," his eyes had filled up with tears, a few making their way down his face, leaving damp trails behind them. "They may have all been in DeutschStaggen….bu-but they were all I had left o…..of either of them."

The predator sighed tiredly, looking much older than he was. His ears flat against his skull, his wire thin whiskers drooping along with the rest of his fur, even his tail showed no signs of life, having remained dormant across his lap, not even the faintest twitch from the tip. Judy noticed that the tips of his black ears, and wherever the fur was a very dark brown or simply black, there were small wisps of gray already starting to appear. Rarely it crossed her mind that he was three years older than her, as it wasn't that much of a distance in time. But it wasn't that which reminded her of the differences in their lives, it was the scars. The emotional ones, such as the way he would change subjects if the conversation was leaning too much on his past or his emotions, how he'd brood when something was troubling him, the cynical outlooks he had on life. In this moment it was all simply gone, leaving a vulnerable, emotionally worn out male who seemingly had enough of life dragging him through the mud.

A few moments had passed since he had recounted the story behind their vinyl collection, which the younger officer had been thinking of how to respond. There wasn't anything she could say, an apology was honestly just too bland and wouldn't even express how sorry she was. The lapin's grief could easily be seen from just looking at her, but this was beyond words, all of it. Instead of trying to think of a way to say that things would get better, she stood up on the balls of her hind-paws so as to better reach her mate. Her arms circled around him in a tight hug, pressing herself against his warmth, offering hers to try and soothe him. He returned it, his more muscular and masculine arms easily embracing her, the underside of his muzzle rested between her ears, his eyes looking distantly at a wall.

"Nicholas…." she sighed, tenderly running a paw over his back, albeit pointless since he was still wearing his vest underneath his uniform shirt.

"Judith," he breathed her true name, causing a warm shiver to dance across her spine. "It doesn't matter that our apartment is trashed. I only care that you're still here with me, that you weren't here alone when it happened," he lifted his head off of hers, only to lower his face to hers. "Not an ideal time to be mushy, considering circumstances, but you're all that really matters to me here," he pressed his nose against hers for a few short moments, before pulling away, his expression having lightened a degree.

"Stop worrying so much about me…I can take care of myself," she smiled, it seemed like it was years since she last smiled. "Besides, we both know you can't fight to save your life," he chuckled softly, rolling his eyes to this.

"Before, you say something hurtful," he scolded her as though he was addressing a child. "Let's head out, pretty sure that we're carrying all that we own now," he sat up from the chair, slipping the strap to his pack over his shoulder, along with pulling the luggage up from the floor.

"Okay," she mumbled, her earlier mood returning as this would more than likely be one of the last few times they'd be coming here. It was only an apartment, but had been there home for so long now, it was hard saying goodbye when it wasn't on their terms.

"Hey," the vulpine lifted the lapin's head so their eyes would meet, by cupping her chin lovingly between his thumb and index. "We'll be alright, we don't give up easily, even after we've been kicked and bruised to hell and back. If we can survive an entire year at the ZPA with Ms. Sergeant Ice Queen, I'm pretty sure we can figure out where to go from here. So turn that frown upside down, for me, Darling," he pecked her lips with his own, simply ignoring some of the sideways stares they got from the other officers.

"I've never been through something….li-like this," her voice was meek, but that was of no really surprise to her mate. "I don't know what…..what to do from here."

"That's not too difficult, we'll just bug some our friends till they let us stay with them," he pulled his phone out of his pocket, having sent some messages out, along with a few phone calls. There were some replies, but he decided that he could look through them once they were out of their apartment.

"Besides, you got me, so don't worry that much about it," her partner attempted to cheer her up. "This isn't the first time this has happened to me…..but I haven't ever had my couch thrown out of a window," he trailed off, his tone having become a little bitter. "Guess we'll have to buy a new one," he grumbled as an afterthought.

"This isn't…"

"Hopps, Wilde?" Chief Bogo called as he re-entered the apartment, having stepped out to discuss what the investigation team had found.

"Sir," Judy gave him a small salute, which was absent of the usual vigor and preciseness it usually held.

"No need for formalities," the older mammal dismissed, waving a hoof as though batting a fly away.

"Well, that's saved at least…five seconds of my life, thanks a bunch Chief, I owe yeh," the tod sighed, adjusting the pack's strap across his shoulder.

"Officially you two aren't allowed to be here," the larger mammal's voice was in the usual bored, gruff tone. "but have either you found anything that could give us an idea of who could've done this?"

"I don't know, maybe them throwing animal's couches out of windows is there calling card or something," the chief raised an eyebrow at the short predator, along with the rabbit officer who was staring at her partner in surprise. Sass and quirky remarks was something had become well accustomed to hearing from him, but never such hostility.

"Didn't mean to step out of line Buffalo Butt," Nick apologized, wiping a padded paw over his face. "No, I didn't find anything but some stay bits of mane and fur," he handed over an evidence bag over to their boss, who took it with a slight nod of the head.

"I found some shards of glass with blood on them," Judy handed over the small amount of evidence that she was able to stumble upon while collecting the stuff that was still in one piece.

"We'll send these down to the labs with anything else we find," Bogo's eyes roamed over the main room of the apartment, his expression solemn. "Officially you two weren't here," his smallest officers nodded in acknowledgment to which he gave a brusque hum. "Is there anything that you two noticed were missing from your apartment?"

"No, it appears that they just wanted to trash our place," the fox pulled his phone back out of his pants, his expression becoming irritable. "I got to take this, I'll meet you back at the cruiser," the vulpine mumbled to her before he headed out of the apartment, the last thing she saw was his scruffy, red-furred tail, the fur bristling on end.

"Hopps," the voice of the chief broke the officer out of her thoughts. "I suggest that you head out as well. I got confirmation that some news crews will be here pretty soon, I'm guessing that neither you or Wilde want to be here when they get here," the easily seen smaller prey shook her head with a distant expression as she absorbed the state that the apartment was in. "Look, I can't say that I understand what you two are going through, but I'm sorry."

"There's nothing to be sorry for, Chief Bogo," she confessed, her heart feeling incredibly weighed down. The buffalo, placed a hoof on her shoulder, turning her to face the bashed up door that led into the apartment. Picking up the luggage bag she let her superior guide her to the door, before stopping at the threshold.

"I'll understand if you two need a few days off to get sorted somewhere, or just to recover from this. Just call check in with us so we know," he patted her shoulder encouragingly. The doe replied with a quiet nod of the head once again before she stepped out of the apartment, leaving behind the place she had called home for the year or two.

"Hopps, I almost forgot," she faced him slightly, twisting her torso and neck around so she could look at the Chief of the ZPD. "We found these in these in your microwave," he placed a few pictures in her paw, her eyes widening as she recognized them as some of her husband's family photos.

"Wh-where…..where was the microwave?" was the only thing she could say, as they had noticed it wasn't in the kitchen, or anywhere else in the apartment for that matter.

"Uhhhhh, I'm not quite sure. Officer Declaw gave these to me, so I haven't the faintest clue," his tone was heavy, obviously he was in foul mood. Attacking his officers extended more than just physically touching them, their homes were also a part of that package. The doe was certain that the chief would insure that whoever did this to them would be brought to justice, it was only a matter of time.

"Is there anything else that you need, Sir?"

"There's nothing else that we need you for, I may call your or Wilde for further questioning and clarification, you understand the drill," his attention centered on a rhinoceros officer, one that the rabbit wasn't all that familiar with. She knew his name, but hadn't gotten that well acquainted with him.

"McGeld, were you able to find footage?"

"Chief, my fingers are too big for the tenant's keypad. There's footage but I can't do anything with it."

"10-4," he mumbled, rubbing his face with a hoof, honestly he should have seen that coming, but he hadn't been sleeping all that well lately. "Go help with the perimeter check and go check that the police boundary is up, I want the press and news crews as far away from the crime scene as possible," the other prey nodded his head before heading down the corridor, heading for the stairs, as the elevators were out for maintenance for the entire week.

"Dervolk!" a timber wolf came running out of the apartment.

"Chief?" she gave a quick salute.

"Go ask the tenant to show you the security room, see if you can copy the footage of the last forty-eight hours for this complex," without another word the she-wolf headed off in search for the landlord.

You're free to go Hopps, we'll sort things out from here," the cap buffalo sighed, seeing that she was still there. Waiting for his permission to leave. He gave her a reassuring smile and a pat on the shoulder before heading back through the crime scene.

"Night, Chief," the doe mumbled to herself, before putting her back to the vandalized property.

 _At the complex's garage…._

The trip back to the cruiser had taken the rabbit office a solid ten minutes, as there was no reason to be hurrying like earlier. That, and she was drained, mentally, emotionally, physically and to it all off, morally as well. However it was the physical exhaustion along with the emotional that took the greatest toll. Her mind was practically fried, no thoughts or ideas popping to mind, besides the image of being curled up in a soft bed with her husband. Where they could hopefully sleep away the rest of the night and deal with this tomorrow. Though this was still decently far away as they didn't have a place to stay or go to, as of yet. Hopefully one of their friends would be able to lend them a room to stay in for tonight, or maybe even the rest of the week till they were able to sort out this mess. A motel or a hotel wouldn't be out of the question, even settling for a beat down apartment would be better than nothing. For now, she'd leave it to her mate to sort this stuff out, as her phone had died roughly three hours ago.

This would all have to be brushed aside for the current moment, since what greeted her at the cruiser was a tad bit concerning. Her partner had his legs sprawled out in front of him as he sat against one of the black and white vehicle's tires, arms crossed and a menacing growl directed at a smoldering pile of ash. The first thing that registered with her when she padded over to him was the smell, her nose twitched as it was assaulted by the rich, think mustiness, she could only describe it as stale. A little ways from the dark cindering pile was a packet of matches, her mind finally catching up with her. It was so simple that she wanted to smack herself for being so slow for it to come together. Though she played it off as she placed her bags in the cruiser, not wanting to jump straight to this topic, as it was rather clear that her mate was near his breaking point. After taking a seat next to him she pressed her side next to his, resting a paw at the base of his neck, scratching at his scruff lovingly.

"Hey, Slick," she breathed, her nose finding it difficult to differentiate itself from his scent and the bitter….yet somehow welcomingly intoxicating smell of cigarettes.

"Glad that you could find time out of your busy schedule for me, Whiskers," he mumbled, resting his head against the side of hers, eyes closing, his muzzle features lightening a great deal.

"Chief said we could have a few days off, if we want them anyways. What do you say, want to skip out of wo…."

"I'm sorry…Judy, for everything of late," he cut her off, his voice as barren of emotion as the asphalt of the garage was of life.

"For what? There's nothing for you to be sorry about." If this was about him resorting to smoking, then she could care less, as of tonight anyways. If it helped him calm down, to find a little peace in the disorder that had become their life, he could…..as long as he didn't go down a road of self-destruction with them.

"I can't honestly tell you. Hmmmmm, maybe for getting you into this mess," his emeralds orbs focused on what was above them, an asphalt and concrete gray sky. "Not how I imagined our life playing out when I proposed," he chuckled despite himself.

"We understood from the beginning that….what we are would be looked down on."

"Yeah, that was displayed quite clearly," he mumbled, referring to their apartment, the place they had called home for the last year or so. "How can you honestly stay with me…."

"Hey, don't talk about yourself like that!"

"Couch thrown through the fucking window, all the doors busted down, bed destroyed…Oh yeah, I can totally see why you're sticking around with a loser li…"

"Enough!" she yelled, making him snap his muzzle shut, shaking his head with self-disgust, training his eyes forward. "Why are you always being so cynical about everything?"

"Ran away from home, young stupid teenager, everyone against you the moment you walk into a store…I got accused of stealing an orange when I was seven…an orange! You wouldn't be so optimistic about the world," he snapped, before taking a breath through his nose. "I'm just dealing with a lot of stress right now."

"You can't blame yourself for this," she nuzzled his cheek, a small purr rumbling from her grinding her teeth together, poles apart from how he was able to do it with his throat.

"Try me," he grumbled. "If….if we hadn't taken this….."

"Stop. I don't want to hear this from you, Nick. I'm happy that we're together, I'm not going to let other animals looking down upon us change that. I love you, nothing's ever going to change that," she pulled his head so it was facing hers, before kissing him lightly on the lips. "You understand, you big, Dumb Fox?"

"You have such a way with words. Mrs. Wilde," the tod snorted sarcastically.

"Did I do something? What's going on with you lately? You've been distant lately and you haven't been talking to me lately?" she questioned, not knowing if this was directed towards her, or if he was just venting.

"I…I'm tired….of fighting," he relented, his eyes focusing on hers, everything around them ceased to matter to him. All that existed was them as they talked things out, something he had been avoiding for the last few weeks.

"I understand that feeling," she sympathized with him, having fought since the day she was born to live, with her friends and family to get where she was.

"How? What's the point of fighting this…society, animals, what we swore to do when we decided to put on these uniforms and wear these badges?" he plucked at the piece of metal, nothing more than a novelty without him and other animals to enforce what it stood for.

"Because at the end of the day, we know we're doing the right thing," she squeezed at the base of his neck. "I know it seems hopeless….all of it, but as you're always telling us, we'll pull through. "I understand that you want to give up someday, to leave the ZPD. I can't stop you if that's what you really want, but please I don't want to lose my partner." The words meant more than just their professions, went beyond the simple meanings that they held.

"Don't count on it, I'm not leaving you, Whiskers. Till death do us part, and even then I'm sticking with you. Call me selfish, but I'm not letting you go after we're gone," she giggled to this corny statement, his voice soon joining hers as they shared a laugh. "No, I'm not going anywhere, just want you to understand how I'm feeling. It's…..we're following false leads it seems," his shoulders fell, relaxing as he laid his heart out. "Who honestly care's what anyone else thinks, they can't even imagine what we have," he pressed his muzzle to her forehead, leaving a gentle kiss. "Don't let me go and I'll always be at your side."

"You really are an idiot some days," she settled her other paw on the upper part of his chest, feeling the faint thump of his heart.

"I sold pawpsicles with a fennec fox that dressed up as an infant in a elephant costume. Did that for a solid six years before you came along and ruined it, so that should explain to you how low I was willing to go," he shot back with a smirk, a familiar mischievous glimmer returning to his eyes.

"Case and point, a naïve, ZPD rookie bunny was able to hustle you, and completely change your life," she booped her nose against his larger one playfully, the bends of his muzzle tugging up in amusement.

"Have to say, it was a welcomed take of fresh air," his mood starting to improve as she nuzzled him, her attempts to cheer him up working quite well.

"You hated every minute of it," the doe scoffed.

Even to this day she could remember how much of a pain the vulpine had originally been when they were working together. The reality of it was that when she had blackmailed and conscripted him to help her. It was far from a partnership of trust or respect, he had only done as she asked and worked with her to keep himself out of jail…..maybe even prison if the courts stacked more to his charges.

"True, but there were definitely benefits," he let out a groan after she landed a punch at his abdomen, all the air in his lungs having been forced out.

"Pervert!" she hissed, the paw that had been laid against his chest was now tugging on his tie, threatening to pull on it till it was a noose.

"Hey, I already came clean with that, Darling. I clearly recall telling you that I thought you were an eye-grabber, to me at least."

The predator raised his paws up dismissively, as though he was surrendering. The prey was relieved that their talk had cleared the air between them, at least enough to make it normal and bearable again. There were still subjects that they had to address and many more things to deal with, but that was what communication was for. Early on in their relationship they had left too much unsaid, hoping that if it wasn't addressed then it would just simply disappear. Mistakes that seemingly all couples made, but they had gotten through those rough patches, their relationship becoming stronger because of it. This wasn't any different, they were both at fault, they were both responsible for this. They'd work them out within the next week or two, but for now they just wanted to put their troubles beside for the rest of the night.

"So you've told me, so many times before," she mock-chided before adding, "Now how about you tell you're Honey Bunny about that," she referred to the scorched pile that was once a carton of smokes with the tip of little pink nose.

"I found them in my pack….guess I was keeping them as an emergency or something," he chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his head, earning him an unimpressed glare from his mate. The one thing that she absolutely loathed more than being called cute, was being lied to.

"Toooo, be honest I had myself a little relapse when I got out here. I partially got through my first one…I kinda lit the rest on fire with it. I put that behind me, I don't want to go through that stuff again. Besides, my breathings jacked up enough as it is."

"Going to be alright?" her paw had made its way to the back of his ears, unmercifully attacking his itchy spots, rich purring resonating around them and filling their ears.

"Oh yeah, you can count on that, Carrots. You can abuse me all you want, but I'll only come back and do it again," he declared smugly. "Foxes are stubborn like that, when we've found a comfortable way to do things, we rarely break away from it," the rabbit socked him in the arm with her free paw.

"Owww, what was that for?" he grouched, all the same he wrapped an arm around her, the desire to be close to her having become overwhelming.

"I didn't hit you that hard," she scolded, as though addressing a cub.

"No, you didn't. But you should really stop hitting me one of these days, you could break something important," he mumbled, rubbing the course fur of his chin into her neck. Ticklish squeaks echoed across the garage from the sensations, the doe squirming in his hold, desperately trying to break free.

"Stop. Nicccckkkkk, stop it!" she cried, her heart racing from the sudden change of mood from her husband. Not even five minutes ago he was questioning their marriage, now he was back to his affectionate self.

"Hey, this is way better than smoking, now stay still so I can nuzzle you," he growled as he exposed his fangs, but it was all for show and play. Where other rabbits and prey would flinch in fright, she barely showed any sign that it affected her, besides her muscles going taught, lingering reactions of instinctual fear.

"I'm starting to think is how you deal with stress, not how you show affection, Sweetheart," she hummed in pleasure, his nuzzling having turned into licking and nipping.

"It's part of it, but I can't help myself around you," he confessed. "…..I-I can stop," he pulled away.

"You don't have to if you don't want to," she pressed her forehead against his shoulder, head butting him a few times to try and get him to play. A large paw encompassed her face, shoving her away good-naturedly.

"Not that I mind all this, but Lance has offered us one of his spare rooms. He's letting us stay as long as we need…wants us to help pay with the rent though," the tod sat up, pulling her to her hind-paws as well. "It's in Tundratown, last thing I want is for us to get caught up in a blizzard," he opened the driver's side door, offering for her to get in, which she did.

Half expecting to drive, she was surprised when he crawled himself up next to her, hip checking her a few times to get her to scoot over. Rolling her eyes she pulled herself over to the passenger seat. She let out a high squeak as she felt him pinch at her fluffy tail, making her cover it with both paws and to sit up rigidly, before twisting herself around.

"Nicholas Wilde!" the lapin exclaimed shyly, the fur of her muzzle have darkened a light shade of crimson.

"That's for strangling my tail like a plush cushion in the shower earlier," he smirked evilly at her. "It's still sore you know," he moped. "What did I ever do to you, huh?" his tail was wagging ever so slightly, yet the doe noticed that it was doing it rather stiffly. "Messing with you, you're tail massage was amazing," he purred fondly, his mind reminiscing the time in the shower that morning.

"Wake me up when we get there, alright," she yawned, leaning back in her seat, closing her eyes. Another thing their two species shared in common was that they too naps whenever they could.

Not wanting to keep them here any longer, he turned the ignition, the engine roaring to life before it started humming healthily. It would take them an hour or so to get to where Lance's place was. Out of all places the kid had decided to chose to live, it was out there! With all that he learned about the younger officer, it didn't quite add up why he decided the coldest district in the city. From what he had told him, he had grown up on a farm, where he was out in the hot humid weather most days. Why would he want to live in a tail freezing district was beyond him. Guess they'd find out soon enough.

 _Sometime later that evening….._

Having lived in Zootopia since the day he was born, one would expect that nothing would truly sneak up on the city's first fox officer. This couldn't be any further from the truth, as it were he was baffled that it had taken a full hour to arrive at their friends apartment With it being late there wasn't much traffic outside, and they had been fortunate enough not to be stopped all that much from the ridiculous amount of traffic lights. All the same it had taken a lot longer than he believed that it should have, not even the numerous shortcuts they had taken seemed to make a difference. Either way it didn't really matter anymore, they were finally here and the only thing that was on his mind was curling up in a bed to sleep off the rest of the night. Not wishing to stay in the cruiser any longer than he had to, the tod shook his partner awake. Her amethyst eyes blinked open slothfully, coming back to reality once again.

"Come on, you can get back to your beauty sleep once we settle in."

The male chuckled, finding that the rabbit waking up, was one of the cutest things he had ever witnessed. This wasn't something he'd tell her though, since the last time he had done so had ended up with him being shoved out of their bed. Not something he would be particularly interested in reenacting with their vehicle.

"You could be a gentlemale and carry me," the doe retorted as she stifled back a yawn.

"Hmmmmmm, As much as I'd love to do that, Fluff. I'm not coming back for the rest of our bags."

The smaller officer was silent for a few moments as she considered it, but nodded her head reluctantly, flexing her stiff toes. Her hind-paws were killing her, after spending half the day in the Canyonlands it shouldn't surprise either of them that their paws were sore, hers especially from all the running she had to do. Bearing that in mind, her husband had promised a paw massage tonight, which she'd try and hold him to.

"Don't worry, Carrots," he gave her thigh a soft squeeze. "I haven't forgotten about your aching little rabbit feet," he teased as he pulled his paw away, opening the door which let in a blast of freezing cold air, making them both shiver, the heat from the cruiser having all but been sucked out.

The vulpine shivered as his padded paws met the snow with a crunch, his fur standing on end from his tail to the tip of his angular ears. Hind-paws with pads were useful for traction and absorbing the shock of each step so his bones didn't suffer, but they were absolutely useless for snow. It wouldn't bother him that much when he adjusted but the first few initial minutes were irritating. It was something that his mate seemed not to notice when she hopped out of the car herself, since her rear- paws were completely covered with fur.

Then again, he didn't exactly feel anything from his plantar pads, so it was mainly due to his toes. His palmer pads on the other paw were a great deal more sensitive, since he rarely walked on them. It was unusual to see animals walking on all four limbs, he'd only resort to it if he was trying to lay low while in the field or to get somewhere quietly and quickly. Then there were the evenings his partner and him were mixing things up, usually with him acting feral.

"Oww, ow, ow ow ow ow," the fox's ears perked up as he heard his partner groaning out in pain. Making his way to the passenger side, he found that she was hobbling over to the trunk.

"You alright?"

"My leg fell asleep…..pins and needles," she half giggled and groaned, a torturous tickling sensation mixed with stinging. The predator kept his laughter to himself, as he found it amusing how she was hobbling. Not saying another word he joined her at the trunk, pulling out their bags and packs, his being a tad larger.

"Want me to take your bags?" he asked softly, seeing that it was her right leg giving her problems, the cold would often than not trigger it to seize up.

"Co…..could you carry me…my-my legs…." he took her pack off her shoulder, slipping it over his other one, he picked up her luggage back in his other paw, all before crouching down.

"Hands are a bit full, can you manage?" the gray-furred doe nodded as she encircled her arms around his neck, burying her head into his neck. Her legs gripped onto his hips, securing herself against him.

"Sorry," she mumbled into the exposed fur of his neck.

"It's fine, Fluff-Butt. I'd be more sorry for the animals that we'll be making uncomfortable," he smirked to himself as he started trudging forward, the extra weight forcing him to take it slow.

Once they managed their way into the foyer of the apartment, a siberian tiger who was at the front desk glanced up at them. For a few second, the male stared at them skeptically, before he shook his head and returned his attention to the computer screen. Rolling his eyes, the reynard kept his muzzle shut or he'd let something slip that would more than likely get them tossed out, uniform or not. It was obvious that he was struggling with the bags, and balancing all that with his mate clinging to his front. The least the other mammal could have done was take his bags so he could find somewhere to sit down for a moment. As he was heading towards the nearest elevator, he felt his mate's claws dig into the back of his neck, a muffled gasp coming from his neck. As he was about to ask her if she was alright, an animal approached them, having been sitting down at one of the benches, having pulled their attention away from their phone.

"Oh! Nick!" Lance greeted as he shot up, heading over to them, his head tilting in confusion. "Wha…oh let me take these," the wolf took the luggage bags from him, freeing his paws, which he used to persuade his wife to change her position, to make it easier on him. Soon enough he was holding the rabbit in his arms bridal style, wearing a grimace on her muzzle.

"Sorry about that you guys, I was waiting for you guys to send me a text to say that you were here," the lupine moved his arm to scratch at the back of his head, but his paws were full.

"It's fine, Buddy," the vulpine reassured with a smile. "How long have you been waiting for us?"

"Last ten minutes or so, I was going to give you a guys a hand with your things…seems you got that covered," his lightening blue eyes settled on the doe. "Are you alright, Judy? You look comfortable?"

"I'm fine, my leg's acting up," she mumbled, closing her eyes, and nuzzling into her husband's chest, even with his vest getting in the way. "He's comfy, so yeah," she answered his other question.

"You're lucky, " the larger canine called an elevator down as he said this. "Shannon hates it when I hold her like that," he chuckled in self-amusement as he reminisced to them.

"I warned you, wolverines don't like being picked up or laid out on their backs," the fox laughed, the younger male becoming flustered, a blush showing through his red and dark silver fur.

"Yeah, no shit!" he shot back with a grin. "Seriously, trying to ma….well let's say trying to…..uhhh forget I said anything," he trailed off mumbling.

"I had the same problem, Carrots here kicked me in the jaw," the fox glared down at his wife accusingly who blushed, but shrugged her shoulder.

"It's not my fault," the rabbit chuckled. "You know I don't like it when you're acting predatory."

"So you tried to launch me off the bed, seriously that hurt," he rolled his neck, it may have been years ago, but he could remember the way his neck had clicked. The first time they had mated…..had been in no lesser words, interesting.

"That's a lot better than having a wolverine latch their jaws around your neck," the rookie nonchalantly threw in.

"Were you two fighting?" the doe inquired curiously. Shannon was one of her friends at the station, but she didn't talk all that much about her relationship, which was understandable because she didn't tell her anything about hers.

"No…don't tell her or anyone I told you, but when I got her to lay on her back…..an….and well got on top, she freaked out, kic…..kicked me off the bed actually. Later, she told me she felt trapped," the fur on his muzzle had darkened till the silver fur seemed to be turning black. "What's taking this elevator so long," he jabbed at the button impatiently, his tail whipping behind him restlessly. "Come one," he groaned.

"We're sorry about troubling you with….."

"Don't worry about it," the larger predator stopped the prey right there. "I'm more than happy to do this," his eyes looked down at the floor as he took on a more serious tone and sympathetic expression. "I'm sorry about what happened to your guy's place. How bad was it? Will you guy be going back?"

"Carpets been all torn up, and there's a lot of damage to be fixed," the older male growled bitterly. Our insurance will pay for most of it...I don't know if we're moving back. I don't think our tenant will appreciate it if we do."

"It wasn't like it was your two's fault! I mean come on, you're apartment was torched."

"Quite honestly, I think it's about time we move again, we've had our eyes on this house just a little ways out of Zootopia," the rabbit officer explained. It would have been more ideal if they went for the house next year, but neither of them wanted to live in an apartment for much longer after tonight's entire ordeal.

"Well, you two are welcomed to stay as long as you want…we'll talk more about expenses and crap tomorrow," the lupine reassured them. "If….if you need to talk about it….we're here for you."

"Alright you big sap, stop before you start getting emotional, or get this one going," the other male officer scolded.

All that came as a reply from the lupine, was a soft growl, other than that it was silent between the three mammals. The doe let her eyes amble about the high-rises lobby, catching a lot of noticeable differences from those in Savannah. The most noticeable was the fire place that was set up against a corner of the room, a variety of furniture placed around it, a lounge of some sorts. Besides this, there was also the fact that the interior of the building was built like a cabin, large logs having been cut and shaped to make the walls and ceiling. From what she had picked up, the outside of the building was made with similar material, giving it an authentic, yet warped design of an old style lodge. Cozy was the word that came to her mind if she had to describe it, a rustic and warm coziness. It was nice, but she preferred places more along the lines of her family home, it was more along the lines of an over glorified barn, but it was just her preference.

Her eyes darted from the rafters to the supports, then to the internal decoration of the entrance. Above their heads were several chandeliers, crafted from bleached white branches which resembled antlers, candle-like lights protruding from several tips. The walls were dotted with numerous paintings of wildlife in the winter, to simple log houses out in the middle of nowhere, or of buck rail fences sticking out of snow drifts. Something about it all just left her feeling warm and safe, the troubles from the earlier events that night starting to slip away.

A soft ding, informed the animals that the elevator had finally gotten to their level. A caribou along with a half dozen stoats and a polar bear stepped out of the lift, all of them glancing over the trio. Chiefly the rabbit and fox, but they didn't bring it up or bother to spare them a second glance, their uniforms had probably assisted them from this. Without a single word passing between the officer, they stepped inside, the wolf sing his tail to enter the floor that he lived on. The short trip to the sixth floor was filled with an uncomfortable silence, the three of them never having been off duty together all that long. They were accustomed being around one another while on duty, this however was something entirely different. The awkwardness didn't end till they came to a stop at the door the larger predator's flat.

"Urmmmm, it's not much too look at, so just make yourselves at home," Lance got out anxiously, as he unlocked the door, opening the door wide and ushering them in.

"Heh, not much is it, Kid," the fox officer's voice full of sarcasm, the place easily being twice the size of their place. "Could fit our entire department in here cozily."

"Hmmmmm," another animals voice came, a wolverine walking out of a corridor that was next to the kitchen. "My advice for you, Nick, is to make sure you don't mistake the wrong rooms," she shot fox with fang-filled smile, which brought the tod to adorn his sleepy eyed lazy smile. "Judy, see you're living the dream life over there," she greeted the prey.

"Shannon, leave him alone," the other female officer greeted.

"Sooo, how long have you two been living together," the vulpine asked the lupine with a singsong tone.

"Almost two months now, what's with all the questions tonight?" he exclaimed in mock-defensiveness. "Come on let's get these bags to your room," the younger male suggested, changing subject as he walked further into the apartment, crossing the living room till he reached the opposite end, turning left and heading down another corridor.

"How's that leg of yours feeling?" the fox asked, walking over to one of the two couches.

"It's stiff, but I can walk now," the rabbit yawned tiredly as she was set down on her own hind-paws.

"Just take it easy, don't want you hurting yourself," she gave him a halfhearted shove as he was fawning over her.

"I'll be fin…."

"Nick will you get your scruffy butt in here! I'm not unpacking your crap for you!" the rookie yelled, a smile in his voice.

"Alright, keep your tail on, Kid!" the red-furred predator called back as he exited the room.

"Males," the wolverine chuckled as she sat next to the rabbit, who had scrambled herself up its moments before."They're still boys at heart," she added, before resting her head against the back of the couch.

The lapin noticed that her friend was only sporting a white bathrobe, her exposed brown, black, and tan fur glistening in the low lighting as it was still damp from a recently taken shower. Her fur color was rather generic of her species but she had distinguishing characteristics, such as the markings on her otherwise murky brown muzzle. Starting around the root of her muzzle, the fur was a sandy tan, giving her a naturally occurring mask, displaying her hazel brown eyes beautifully. Her rounded ears which were a chestnut brown, much like the rest of her fur ended with sandy shaded tips. Her stunningly built legs and arms were of a dark brown at least that was the case till it met with the lighter shade halfway up her forearms and thighs. It almost appeared to be black from how dark it was. Other than this, the only other thing that stood out on her were the black tear marks that started from the inside corners of her eyes, till they mingled back with the brown fur beneath her tan mask. Nick had even admitted that she was considerably beautiful, and she had an intelligent mind that mirrored it.

"Lance and you seem to be getting along," Judy stated the obvious, as she had gotten lost in space, her eyes having settled on the ceiling for some time now.

"He's such a sweet guy….shame that I got to let him go," the two of them laughed together, as this was just a joke. "No, he's definitely something special, I'm thinking he might be the right one for me," she purred happily, before adding thoughtfully. "I dated, what like nine other guys before him?"

"No…..I think it was a eleven."

"Doesn't really matter, he's the only one that I've mated with, and he's the first guy I've been with outside my species. I'm also older than him, definitely changing things up with this one. He's four years younger than me….well more around four and three-quarters, so you could say five."

"Four, we agreed on four, Shan!" the lupine yelled from the spare room, the rabbits ear picking up snickering from her husband.

"Stop nosing around!" the female predator shouted back, her eyes smiling. "Let the adults talk for a little while!" she turned her head to the doe. "See, there's no living with them some days. Can't even chat without them butting in, especially mine. Hope Nick is well more behaved."

"He can be a handful sometimes, but there's no other animal I'd rather have watching my back."

"I always suspected that you two were a lot more than you two appeared to be," the angeline tightened the shash around her, as the front of the robe started to part, revealing more of the fur of her breast and flat stomach. "Before you ask how I know, it was the way that he would always hang to every word you said. He was always a step behind you, and he had this look in his eye when he was around you…..oh god I'm going to make myself sick," she gagged. "Too much mushy talk for one night," she placed a large paw on the doe's shoulder. "You going to be alright, Judy!"

"I'll be fine, Shannon, it's just….been a long day," she sighed, her mind still trying to process everything, it would more than likely hit her later that night, or tomorrow morning sometime.

"I'm here if you want to talk, we've known each other for a while now. You could practically call me one of your sisters," she joked, but after how much they had confided with one another over the years, except for their relationships that is. Along with how much time they had spent just idly chatting and spending time together off duty. The prey considered the predator to be family, as strange as that may sound.

"Yeah, my big, scary, often times ill-tempered sister…who scares almost ninety percent of the males at the station and in our department."

"I'm not that bad, I just treat everyone with the same amount of distrust," she chuckled, before standing up. "I'm going to get something to drink, do you have a preference. Wine, beer, coffee, a soda, we got plenty of ice cold water as well, and tea," she listed as she walked back into the kitchen.

"Urmmm…..tea would be nice, please..."

 _Much later that night…._

Judy nuzzled her muzzle deeper into the fur of Nick's throat, making him stir in his sleep. One of his paws stroked her back subconsciously in response, the arm he had draped over her waist tightened its hold, squeezing them even closer together. There wasn't a window in this room, and since their friends had retired, there wasn't any light pouring out from the gap beneath he door. As such, she was completely blind, the only senses she could rely on were from her nose, touch, and hearing. But it honestly wasn't needed, as she was stripped down to the fur that she was born in, the same could be said of her mate. It was rather warm in the room as the heating had been turned on, even in the summer the temperatures in Tundratown could reach negative twenty-five degrees in fahrenheit. The real excuse to why they had shed their clothing for bed, was it felt better to feel their mate's fur mingling with their own, much more relaxing then having clothes get in the middle of it.

Though none of this helped her doze off, as everything just felt too alien to her. The sheets, the softness of the bed, the sounds and as outlandish as it sounded the smells all contributed to her being wide awake. Her body was used to their apartment, all the familiarities no longer present as they were now staying at Lances and Shannon's flat. This wasn't to say that she thought it was bad here, it was actually the opposite of that. It was cozy, held a comfortable atmosphere, she felt just as safe here as she did at the place they called home; possibly even more so as there were more of them, safety in numbers as the saying used to go. Though what truly troubled her was that…..that it didn't feel like they belonged. This was all their friends, they were sharing this with them and it made her feel like they were mooching off of them.

That was how she felt at present, her husband having no such concerns as he was unexpectedly already fast asleep. Generally he was the one who was wide awake at such strange hours in the morning, being a night-animal did that, throwing his entire sleeping pattern out of place. Seeing as there was nothing else for it, she let out a sigh, waiting for her mind to clear itself of thoughts, so she could finally get some rest. Ten minutes in and she felt her eyes starting to sting as tears started to flood them, everything started to settle in. She knew this would happen eventually, but she had hoped that it wouldn't come, that she would be able to look passed this entire ordeal.

Her soft sobbing, and the tears that escaped her demonstrated that this wasn't to be. Attempting to stifle them so she didn't wake up everyone equally ended in disaster, her mate's arm tightening around her as he sat up, cupping the back of her head with his free paw.

"Come 'ere," his voice cooed to her softly in the dark. "It's alright, Hon, Nicky's here," he kissed her forehead, removing his paw from her head to wipe away at her tears.

" Ni…Nicholas?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

"Hey, I love you too, Fluff," he pulled her closer, letting her sob into him, understanding that it was hopeless to try and stop her. Even though the doe couldn't see it, but there were tears soaking into the fur of his own muzzle, but she could still feel him shaking against her, his breathing shallow and just as uneasy as hers. "Come on, you can let it out, I'm not going anywhere," he murmured to her, resting his muzzle against the top of her head, right between her droopy gray ears. "Everything's going to be alright, I promise."

* * *

 **HI: Wow, so this chapter went on a lot longer than I thought it was…..wow, a whole extra two thousand words. But I really enjoyed this chapter, one of my favorites in fact. The detail and time I put into Nick and Judy's apartment was by far the most difficult to right, and trying to capture the emotions as accurately as I could, while keeping them in character was quite interesting. Also going more into depth with Lance and Shannon's relationship was fun….wanted to put some time in for my OCs without pulling away from the main character's point of views. Though if you guys would like me to go more into depth with these guys, I could try going into their POV and other character every once in a while, what do you think, hmmm, hmmm XD. Welp, I gotta get some sleep soon, or this isn't going to make any sense.**

 **To answer some questions. I got in a lot of comments about Nick and Judy's place. I don't know if I made this clear or if I just made this confusing. They are still living in their apartment when it was broken into, but they refer to it as their** _ **home**_ **, as many of us would if living in a place for two or more years. Well, it used to be their home, but it's been pretty messed up, as you guys probably found out. Who did this, well we're going to find out soon enough. Also, the apartment wasn't torched, as many of you thought it was. Unless you are meaning how it was basically vandalized and demolished, as torching someone's place can mean a lot of things, from arson…..hehhehheh that's a funny word, XD, all the way to just wrecking someone's place up. Well some things were burnt, but the place wasn't set ablaze. Though a couch and a few other of their possessions did get thrown through a window….what kind of messed up animal does that. Really? Also, if there are things that are unclear and confusing, please let me know.**

 **That's about it on my end folks. If you're wondering why this came out a day early, well, I'm going to be out all day tomorrow, so I won't have time to put this up, or work on it. Sooo, I put maximum effort to get this chapter out. Hope you guys like it.**

 **Last few things.** **This fanfiction went from just twenty reviews in the first chapter and two thousand views and barely over a dozen or so followers and favorites to the third most popular M romance and drama on the Zootopia archive. It now sits at over 110000+ views, over four hundred reviews, 500+ favorites and 700+ followers.**

 **I couldn't have done this alone, we did this as a team. This story and I couldn't have made it this far without you guys. Please understand that I grealy appreciate all that you guys do for this story. If by sending a PM my way with your thoughts, leaving a review, following and favoriting either the story or myself. Seriously, I sincerely mean this when I say thank you, all of you so much for being a part of this journey. I hope you stick with me for the rest of this story, because there are still a lot of chapters to come.**

 **There's nothing else that I have on my mind to say, I'm just immensely overjoyed to see this story come so far because of your support. Till next time, this is Reverend Archangel signing off. Crisp high five and tens for everyone.**


	22. Recuperation

_**Chapter XXII**_

 _ **Recuperation**_

For a greater deal of dinner, the fox officer's attention was centered on the meal that had been served onto his plate; that was until his phone started to obnoxiously vibrate from an incoming phone call. As they were at the table eating, he pushed it out of his mind, whoever it was could wait. Though it was starting to wear dangerously thin with his resolve, nothing was more aggravating then having the device go off in his pocket. The angeline who was sitting directly across from him, looked away from the doe, who she had been holding a discussion with for the last quarter of an hour. Her hazel gems darted around the room as she searched for the source of the sound. The larger, as well as much more intimidating female's ears twitched, pivoting till they honed in on the noise, her eyes not far behind as they settled on him, obviously it was coming from as all their phones were either in the living room or their rooms.

"You going to answer that?" Shannon asked curiously.

"Nah, probably someone with the wrong number, anyways we're eating, they can wait.," he expressed coolly, using his knife to slice into the mushroom, which oddly enough had the same texture and taste that meat was rumored to have.

"It could be from the chief….the station maybe…might be something important…..it could even be that smaller fox you used to hang around with…Flin…..Fin…what was his name…it was Finnick," Lance commented, having glanced up from his own dish briefly as the trembling continued.

"I'm sorry to disappoint my adoring fans, but unfortunately they'll simply have to live without me…it tears my heart to do this to them, but they can't always expect me to be there for them," the tod explained with a theatrical voice, as he brought his fork to his muzzle, taking another mouthful of homemade fries; his phone having become dormant once again.

"Suit yourself," the wolverine sighed returning back to the conversation she was having with the rabbit-officer; being a receptionist in addition to being a dispatcher, it had become a habit to picks up every single call that came here way. "…..where were we again?"

"Our siblings."

Judy stated, shoving the mushrooms to the far side of the plate, as it was upsetting her stomach, for reasons that she couldn't put a finger on. Growing up in her family's home, she had been introduced to a large variety of plants, ranging from shrubberies, vegetables, gramineae, fruits, fungi and even a few types of weeds. The mushroom had either gone off, was under-cooked…or quite possibly it was one that she had never encountered before. The lupine lifted his head up, to listen in to what they were talking about or to shoot the breeze with the other canine. This was before he noticed the smallest officer staring down at her food, his eyes landing on the fungus that was pushed to the edge of the plate.

"Oh…..yeah you're not going to want that, Judy," he skewed them with his fork, separating them between the other three predators, the rabbit looking up at him with confusion.

"Thanks…."

"They're portobellobello and cremini mushrooms," the wolf explained, having grown up on a farm that produced them. "It's what predators use a meat substitute, the texture and taste are very close to what meat is like, that we know of at least, I don't know the difference….Well, other than prey dislike them. Sorry about that, didn't know they you took any," he mumbled as an afterthought.

"They're good, was wondering why they tasted the way they did. Thanks again Shannon," the vulpine threw in, having taken another mouthful of them.

"It's good to see that we can get you to eat something other than fruit," the gulo ribbed, getting the other three mamals to chuckle in amusement.

"Don't count on it, this is just a little lapse," the tod rolled his eyes good-naturedly.

"Urhhhhhhhh, I'm surprised you're not blue from how many berries you eat," the youngest predator grumbled out, flashing his ivory fangs as he grinned. "Honestly…I can't stand eating fruit like you do."

"As I was saying," the prey steered her and the other female back to their earlier topic. "What was this about with your siblings?"

"Ohhhhh, right! I was saying that, I can hardly stand my brother and sister. I can't imagine living with two-hundred more siblings, how do you even remember their names, or what they look like? How haven't you lost your mind and murdered some of them?"

"I don't really know, I guess it comes easy to rabbits…..but we don't always get along. A lot of my brothers and sisters start these little _wars_ ," she air quoted this. "Which means they'll start messing with the other litters…it can get a bit out of paw sometimes. Dad's still fuming about the time when my brothers from the second litter managed to lock half the house in their rooms."

"How'd they do that?"

"They switched the doors from the west side of our house with the east's sides, so the bolt locks in them were facing outside rather than inside," the doe smiled as she remembered that, not even to this day would the confess to what brought that on. "It took them a great chunk out of the morning to put all the doors back where they belonged. That and they had to stay out till two in the morning to catch up on the day's work."

"The most my brother has done is to replace my fur conditioner with glue. I don't have to tell you how hard it is to get that out, but what made it worse is that I had to give a presentation in my class," she pressed a paw to her forehead, starting to fall into a fit of laughter. "He used super glue….the stuff that dries in fifteen seconds or so…ahhhh god, I had parts of my fur cut out, and it was a mess. I got deducted a letter grade for coming presenting in such a _disorderly attire_ , as my professor put it."

"That's nothing," Lance broke out of the conversation he was having with the rabbit's partner. "The night before the county championship for my football team when I was in high school, my two oldest brothers dyed my entire uniform bright neon green. No one brought our other ones or any spares. I got tackled so much crap for that," he grumbled, returning back to what the other male and him were talking about.

"How much land do you guys own, I can't see you all living in a small apartment or a normal sized house?" Shannon tossed out, shaking her head in amusement from her mate's story.

"It's roughly thirteen thousand acres."

"What!" the bigger canine exclaimed in astonishment, snapping his head back up to look at the lepus. "We only owned a farm that was nine-hundred acres….that's a lot for my family….ho-how?"

The tod was listening with mild-interest by this point, as the other male officer was becoming increasingly distracted by the other two's conversation. He listened in contently, as much as it was necessary to be able to register what they were on about, his mind rolling back to more concerning matters. Such as trying to figure out a new place for his partner an him to live, since they couldn't stay with their friends forever, despite the fact that it was a consideration, a rather tempting one at times. This wasn't a sound option, they needed a place of their own, he'd sooner live underneath a bridge again than move back into another apartment. Too much had been lost when their place had been broken into, then only proceeded to be brutally violated, it wasn't just furniture or possessions either. Mentally speaking they were fine, but emotionally they had been burned. This was the third time this had happened to him, the first has been a small cheap, under regulated duplex, second time had been Finnick's van. They hadn't bothered him as much as the recent one, but that was because he saw their apartment more than just a place to stay, it was essentially their home.

This had resulted in his slowly rising optimism in which society was truly turning around, being shattered, once again from this recent incident. What had really hit him harder than the previous times that this had occurred, was the fact that his partner's own views on society…..Zootopia itself had fallen to a degree. It wasn't just this, as of late she was acting different, more closed off with her friends, including some of their coworkers. The way she was off duty had changed as well. Instead of being the excited and confident rabbit that he knew her to be, she had become very suspicious of animals. True it was closer to who he was, but this wasn't his mate, the rabbit who would smile, who'd state that things weren't as bad as they were making them out to be.

These were a few of the mounting forces that were weighing heavily upon his weary shoulder as of late. As if what was already going on in the background wasn't enough as it already was before this. The Anti-Interspecies were now moving well into their second month of protesting, though for the most part the city had forgotten, or the news wasn't covering it anymore. They were still gathering in front of the ZPD, in addition to other government buildings, Mayor Lionheart wasn't even getting a break from this, as he was constantly approached by these animals. Chief Bogo was constantly being contacted by them, which he had simply begun to ignore, as they had become generic. Such as demanding him to step down from being the chief of police, holding him accountable for why their city had as much crime as it did, also along the lines that he was a leading example that the police were abusing their badge. Nick wasn't even able to escape any of it, as a pawful of animals had found him on the social networks he belonged to, for once in his life receiving unpleasant messages, some had even gotten their paws and hoof on his email, now receiving hate mail of all things. His wife wasn't being spared either, as she was sent pretty much the same things that he got.

The two officer's hadn't just gained the attention of these animals either. In fact, they were getting calls from supporters and even actual Intespecies couples that were in the same predicament as they were; having somehow obtained their contact information. Through texts, phone calls, emails, muzzle times, as well as the seldom letter, they had received a volume of sympathies. A great deal had also expressed that they thought what they were doing was rather brave, in addition to thanking them for being a voice for all of them. This news had truly relieved a great deal of stress off their shoulders, with the knowledge that so many animals were behind them, other then friends and family, it was a well welcomed change. It left rather pleasant emotions in their hearts, to know that they weren't as a lone as they had felt these last few weeks.

To say that this ex-con-artist was a tad bit worn out from all of this, would be nothing less than an understatement. He was exhausted, a few times he felt like he was on the breaking point of his sanity. The rest of the time he was able to shrug it all off, to pretend that it wasn't happening even when it was directly in front of his nose. It wasn't like they were being kept away from living their lives, the only difference was that there was much more commotion in the city. That and their faces kept showing up just about anywhere that had to deal with the news or social networking. What was starting to wear his brain out, was the chaos of it all. The constant questioning they would get when reporters pounce don them, demanding an opinion from them, along with the constant accusations shouted at them from the protesters when they couldn't avoid them. Why animals couldn't just look the other way like they normally did with Interspecies couples was beyond him. Why their relationship had caused such an uproar left him at a complete loss of words. How come it was suddenly all that important, why was the news of their relationship such a catalyst to these events? Hardly anyone rejected the idea of them being partners on the force, now that they were mate's it was as if they had committed a federal offense, flipping the world on it's axis.

Matters of late had been jumping from lows to highs these last couple of weeks. But the latest news had definitely hit a lot harder than anything else of late. If their flat being mutilated wasn't horrible enough, then the news they had received a few days following was undeniably it. A pawful of the orphanages that had originally notified him that he was eligible to adopt, had retracted their decisions. Out of the dozen places that had been open to him, that was to say his partner along with himself, only three kept their doors open to them. When they had called the ones that had changed their minds to inquire them of the reasons, the Matrons had simply stated that they didn't want to risk their reputations getting damaged, considering how matters currently were. The three that were still with them had sent them emails and had actually called to reassure them that their relationship wouldn't hamper their chances at adoption, as long as Judy filled out the necessary forms and documents that they required.

All the same, the loss of the others bore a great deal of resentment into his heart. How did them being Interspecies have anything to do with adoption? Was the rest of society's opinion of them being together all that important to bar them from having a family of their own? Wasn't all that mattered, was that they were offering a good home as well as the love and support that children needed? If that truly was the case, then what little did it matter that they were separate species.

Apparently that wasn't how life truly worked, which shouldn't be all that surprising to him, as it had never been that way in Zootopia. From the day that he had been practically assaulted at the Junior Ranger Scouts he knew that society looked down on certain animals as well as minorities. In no small way were red-foxes a minority, there were plenty of them, but they were just seen as being liars, thieves, cheaters, common criminals from the day they were born, and the lowliest of animals, all based crimes that were committed in the past by their ancestors. Being what he was along with being married to a rabbit, he was just begging for the world to deride them. In his opinion, the world could drag him over rusted nails and shards of glass as much they wanted, but pulling his partner down with him, that was a different matter.

They had no right to judge her, to scorn her for what she was after everything she had done for them. True there had been mistakes with Bellwether but he'd liked to have seen any other animal figure it out. If there was ever an officer that their rookies…that even their fellow law enforcers should look up to, to try and strive to be, it was his mate. She was one of the most honest and law abiding officers that their city had ever known. If she broke a law while on duty she'd punish herself for it, going so far as to make mention of it in the reports. But to judge her because she was married to an animal outside her own species, that wasn't any excuse.

Sure, rabbits were treated similar to foxes, instead of being regarded with contempt, they were seen as being weak, small, cute, harmless, protected and settlers of life. For his wife to have gotten where she had was no small feat, as she had to fight her way and to truly earn her uniform, to wear a badge, to finally be recognized as an officer. His struggled through the academy was very similar if not worse some days than her experience. The tests that he handed in were looked over longer than the rest of his fellow rookies, scanning it for signs of him cheating or copying another animals work, the same as everyone else. It was just that they would give it over to the other instructors to make doubly sure.

None of this was right, this wasn't anywhere close to equality or fairness, but when had life ever been that way. Or, it could quite possibly be his cynical stance on life, perhaps things weren't as bad as he believed they truly were, there was always the chance that he was just being melodramatic. Then again, these last few weeks had proven otherwise to his partner and him. Nosey reporters and journalists persistently following them and questioning them on a variety of matters, from their home life to politics. Then there were the protesterss, who were demanding that the city illegalize animals seeking mates outside their species. Personally, Nick felt like the city was glaring at them with hypercritical eyes, waiting eagerly for them to slip up. Truth be told, all they'd have to do is ask about, surely an adequate number of animals knew him, or knew about him to be able to share what they knew. He was far from being a saint before their first rabbit officer met him, not exactly a mammal one would expect to become an officer.

Before his mind could travel any further down these trains of thought, his phone started vibrating once again throwing him back into reality. Letting out a small groan he climbed out of his chair, excusing himself from the table. His mate and friends nodding in understanding, all having had similar situations occur to them; best to answer persistent callers, if only to get it over with. Taking his phone up to his right ear, which was flicking in irritation he pressed down on the accept symbol, closing the door to the spare room that his partner and him had been sharing for the last couple of weeks.

"Hello?" the tod posed politely, not having checked who the caller was.

"It-it's me, Nicky," his mother's all to recognizable voice came from the other side of the line, albeit hesitantly. If his memory was serving him correctly, then this was the first time they had actually talked to the other for a while.

"Hey…he-hey, Mom."

"I….I didn't…...urmmmmmmm, well interrupt you from your work, did I?"

"No, Judy and I are off duty till Tuesday, but you sort of caught me in the middle of dinner," he chuckled nervously; despite the fact they were districts apart, they could both easily sense the tension between them, thick enough to almost see let alone slice a claw through it.

"Sorry, I can call back at another…."

" Mom, it's fine," he seated himself on the edge of the bed, crossing a leg over a knee, slouching forward. "How's everything with you?"

The male predator posed, his tone having steadily become uneasy. The last time they had talked to any length was back in January; the situation between the two of them was still a little tense from the spat they had at the hospital. This wasn't the first time they had acted sore with the other, there were many leading examples prior to this one. By far the worst had been when he had shown up at his mother's door step; he was in the neighborhood at the time, having decided to grow up and face her. The vixen's emotions went from shock, to relief, a little later on it shifted to grief from missing him growing up into a young adult. That had lasted for a short while, the rest of the evening had been with emotions that could only be felt by a reuniting family. If only that could have lasted a short while longer, but when she had asked about what he had been up to, and what his field of work was, that was where it had all gone horribly wrong.

Animals could say what they liked about him, but Nicholas Piberius Wilde wasn't one to lie, his mother had engrained him with greater manners than that, having always given his honest opinion or answer when it was asked. True he could convincingly exaggerate a story to make it sound more interesting, if it was worth telling in the first place. On this occasion he had laid out the bare boned truth of his line of work. It would be a crime to simply state that she had taken it well, what honest and caring parent would in that situation. Her anger was only outweighed by her disappointment, which tore at his heart worse than her yelling and fury. After he had left, they hadn't talked to one another for a good seven months, or it could have been eight, which was hard on both of them as they had tried to reconnect and let the other back into their life.

The younger vulpine was brought back into reality when his mother replied to his question, her voice timid. For an officer who had excelled at the detective portion of the classes at the academy, it was easily discernible to pick out that there was something else on the vixen's mind than just a checkup.

"I can't complain…..my job is still paying well and it's quite most days here," his mother heaved out a long breath, his mind easily imagining her rubbing her arm in agitation. A few seconds of silence passed, neither of them saying a word till she broke the silence, her voice was weak, clear indication that she wasn't her usual self.

"Nicholas…..ar-are you still there?" even across the crackling sounds of the line, and the way the phone made her voice sound robotic, he could pick up on her sniffling.

"I'm still here, mom," his eyes shut themselves tightly, hating to hear her like this. The times he remembered her acting like this were the seldom times she talked about his father, or when he had come back from school with a black eye, or with signs that he had been beaten up.

"I….I heard about what happened to Judy and you in the news," there was a pause, his ears flickering ever so slightly from noises outside the room, but otherwise remained still, patiently listening to what the vixen was saying. After not receiving word from her the few following days, he had bitterly presumed that she didn't care.

"I'm…..I'm so sorry for the way I acted…..I'm no better tha-than the animals w….who broke….vandalized…your home. I….I understand if-if you don't w-want to talk to m-me any-anymore," she was sniffling, her eyes without a doubt were filled with tears, escaping her gentle blue eyes.

"Hey, hey it's alright. Don't think like that, I'm not going to do that, you're noth…."

"It's not alright," she cut him off, her voice rising a fraction of a degree. "I'm your mother…I shouldn't have sa-said the things that I di…..did. I-I have no right to judge your relationship with Judy…..I was wrong. It doesn't matter that she's a bunny…..all that matters is that you two are happy to-together. Af-after all those other vixens you were with…the ones that broke your heart an-and hurt you….I should have been happy that yo-you found a…..a mate that loves you…whose….whose always looking out for you. I…I'm so sorry," she sniffled, remorseful and desolate sobs starting to escape her, leaving the tod in an uncomfortable position. What use was he on the other side of a phone line, he couldn't exactly physically be there to calm her down, a voice only went so far where this was concerned.

"Mom …. I understand that this has been hard for you to accept, but I'm not going to forget about you, or push you away because of this…you're my mother and nothing's ever going to change that," he ran a paw over the top of his muzzle. "I understand why you're so skeptical about us….seriously I am at points. A rabbit and a fox being mates…..it's as crazy as it sounds. But you were the one who always told me to be anything that I wanted to be…..Look at me now, I'm a cop, helping to uphold the law and to protect the city, " he chuckled with mock-bravado , his emerald eyes having started to glisten, his mother's sniffling getting to him.

"You've come so far, Sweetie," his mother murmured, having gained some control of her voice. "I can't be any prouder of you…I know that we've had our ups and downs, along with our fights," she trailed off in thought, sniffling a little still. "I never thought that you would be able to turn your life around…I'm so glad that Judy and you bumped into one another, she helped my little Nicky, get his life back on track," there was a smile in her voice. "I…I was brash…and I wasn't thinking when I said those things. I…..I don't completely agree with it, but it's your life and as long as you two are happy together….then that's all that matters."

"Urhhhhh, I…..Thanks. That means a lot mom, coming from you," his eyes blinked a few times, trying their best to rid themselves of the moisture.

"I've kept you long enough, dear," the vixen's tone had picked up, returning to what he was more accustomed to hearing, confidence, patience and also a kindness that she would offer to all those who would return it.

"You have….seriously you've kept me all to yourself this evening….." the officer grinned before looking at the time on his phone, seeing that an entire half hour had slipped by.

"Before I go, I was…it's up to you two….if you want to that is," the older fox stumbled over words, before letting out an huff. "If Judy and you want, it's my day off tomorrow and it would be….nice if we could spend the day together…..that is if the two of you aren't busy."

"That…that honestly sounds great," the younger predator nodded to himself, his thoughts turning to his wife who had expressed her interest in visiting more of Zootopia's districts, "We have the next three days off, when would be the best time for us to head over?"

"Sometime around ten, if that works with you two?"

"Alright…." he agreed, opening his muzzle to say something else, but the words escaped him.

"I'll let you get back to your dinner, I'll see you tomorrow Nicky, love you."

"Love you too, Mom, see you tomorrow," there was a soft click as she hanged up, his phone dropping the call a few seconds later. With his dinner still waiting for him in the dining room, he pushed himself up, padding his way back out to the rest of the decently sized apartment, which dwarfed their previous ones, then again this was more suited for larger mammals, leaving them dwarfed by most buildings, vehicles, furniture…just about anything really.

"Everything alright?" Judy questioned, turning around from her place on one of the couches to better face him, her ears perked up in curiosity.

"Yep….the call lasted longer than I thought it would," he admitted, heading over to the table, only to find that it had been cleared of all the dishes, what mainly stood out was that his own plate was missing.

"So…..I'm going to guess that a certain buddy of mine, ate my food," he stared at the back of the wolf's head with a sinister glare.

"That was a onetime thing…..I warned you not to leave your donut unattended or I'd get it."

The rookie mumbled, as it just went to show how much of a restraint he had when it concerned his stomach. Though it didn't show, as he had a lean-muscular build, however he was shorter than most wolves his age, standing roughly one point six meters, most wolves such as his cousin Wolford and his mate Fangmeyer were around one point eight, to six point three meters. As such he stood roughly at Shannon's height, if not a centimeter taller or shorter, it was difficult to tell from the tod's point of view.

"I put it in the microwave so you could warm it up," the wolverine called from her spot on the other couch, which she was sharing with her lupine.

"Thank you for keeping your greedy mate away from it," earning a growl of disgust from the other canine. Smiling to himself triumphantly he made his way into the kitchen, coming to terms that the counters, shelves and cupboard went over his head, quite literally. Thankfully he could reach where his plate was, it just required him to sand on the balls of his rear-paws, once he let it heat up for a minute. After he got himself settled back in the chair he was using earlier at the table, he finally carried on eating his food, still having half a plate to finish.

"Who called?" the doe had snuck herself over to him, sitting back in the same chair from earlier.

"My mom….like things can't get any odder for us, isn't that right, Whiskers?"

"Ar…..well are things better between you two now?"

"It's hard to tell with her sometimes…..but since that call was her apologizing, then I'd have to say , yes, yes they are," he pinched a piece of broccoli between his index and thumb claws, placing it near his mate's little pink nose which twitched as she sniffed at it. Her eyes gazed up to his, trying to catch any signs of mischief, as if he had any time to coat it in anything that would irritate her senses.

"Come on, don't you trust your, Scruff-Bag?" he prompted in mock-hurt, taking on a downtrodden expression.

Rolling her eyes, the doe took it between her incisors, before chomping it in half. He hated the green vegetable, which he referred to as rabbit food, which wasn't an inaccurate name for it. His partner on the other paw loved them, something she regularly did when they were watching a movie, was to have a plate of vegetables and a dipping bowl with ranch, munching on them instead of popcorn. After she swallowed it, he scratched the underside of her muzzle affectionately, prompting her to close her eyes from the delightful sensation.

"Good girl," he breathed, stroking the side of her lovely muzzle before retracting his paw.

"Was that the only reason that she called?" the rabbit asked, stealing the remaining vegetables on his plate, even going so far as to go for his fries.

"There were some other things that we talked about…also how do you feel about doing some exploring tomorrow?"

"What did you have in mind?"

"My mom's invited us over for the day…..that is if you want to come," he added, not having exactly gotten her thoughts on the matter.

"Sounds fun….means I can finally see what you looked like when you were younger," the lapin teased, making him shake his head in mock-disgust, his lips forming a hard line across his muzzle. "I'm just messin' with you, Slick Nick," she elbowed him.

"It also gives me the chance to show you more of Zootopia…ever been to Nocturnal District?"

"I've never gotten the time, and Chief Bogo has never assigned me there for anything either."

The doe explained hesitantly, after spending the years that she had in the city, an animal would expect her to have traveled it more, in the very least visited the other smaller districts. Besides this, she was rather ignorant of animals species, having run into ones that she wasn't even familiar with over the years, her partner explaining to her what they were and the districts they were most commonly found. She hadn't even heard of fossa, okapi, or the saiga antelope before she moved to the city she had been assigned. It wasn't entirely her fault as the truth was, rabbits did live settled lives as did most of the animals out in the Triburrow county, many of them preferring to keep to their community instead of worrying about cities and towns that had nothing to do with them.

"That's why you have me, I'm more than happy to show my favorite bunny the city…..well at least the places that I have gone to," he encircled an arm around her, pressing her against his side gently. "We should definitely explore the rest of the Districts when we get the chance."

"Sounds fun, but let's save it for when we on vacation again."

"Works with me….I'd like to save our remaining vacation days for emergencies…..or when we finally adopt, but we can figure that stuff out later. Right now, all that matters is surviving the next couple of months," his soft chuckle was lighthearted as he added, "That and we still got to find our own place."

"Have you found anything?"

"There's a few places that I got my eye on, just trying to work out the expenses, also I think we should check them out before we decide to buy."

"Hmmmm, that sounds like a good idea, but we're going to have to figure out a time for it," the doe recommended.

"No! I just thought that the chief would really appreciate it if we didn't come in for a few days," the fox replied, his words heavily laced with sarcasm. "Really, you bunnies and your small minds," he teased, his eyes resting on his mate warmly.

"I hope your back isn't sore," she grumbled.

"Why's that, Carrots? Wouldn't happen to be offering a massage?"

"Hmmmm, that's not it, you're sleeping ….."

"No way is he sleeping on the damn couch," Lance interjected, his head popping over the back of the one that was directly facing the TV. "Last thing I want is mistaken him as one of the cushion in the morning, we're not up to paying anyone's medical bills in here…or explaining to our insurance companies how it happened."

"Don't get your tail in a knot," Nick shot back with a smirk. "Judy was only, telling me that I had to sleep underneath the bed."

"Why would you…..You guys know what, I don't want to know," the wolverine posed, only to change her mind.

"See, I told you that they'd make great god parents," the lepus informed her partner.

"Tell Ben that, I'm sure he'd kill me," the lupus groused, returning to laying sprawled out behind his mate, arm draped over her middle.

"Fine, fine, you can both be the godfathers, happy," the fox flicked a paw derisively.

"Works with me, now can you boys be quiet, trying to watch the movie…please" Shannon threw in, so as not to give the red-furred predator any ideas.

The shortest predator's muzzle was open, about to give shoot back a retort of some fashion, but was stopped by his partner pulling on his dark cobalt tie. Once again wearing his usual attire, accept that he had changed things up, today he was wearing a light blue Hawaiian shirt, and jet-black pants. What got to the rabbit, was that it wasn't really that much of a change, as he was basically wearing the same clothes with a different color. Comparatively she was a tad under-dressed, but she didn't honestly feel that it demanded that she change. A pair of blue shorts and a light pink sleeveless v-neck shirt. It was a lot warmer inside the building then she originally thought it was going to be, seeing as most nights outside were in the negatives, in the day it struggled to get past single digits in positives.

"Judy, you've tried to hang me with this tie so many times….don't you think you should give it a break by now," he spoke in an undertone as he lowered his muzzle so it was level with hers, adorning his sleepy-eyed smile.

"Don't crush my dreams, I'll be successful one day," the rabbit kiss the tip of his mauve nose, his smile only widening.

"Can't resist, huh?"

"You're despicable," instead of pushing his face away as she usually did, she pulled his lips to hers, their lips meshing together for a few moments.

"Tell me something that I don't know," he gave the base of her left ear a nip, before he went back to the few remaining scraps of food on his plate, putting a leash on his more primal desires.

"I had an affair with Finnick," the rabbit stated, trying to keep a straight face.

"That doesn't surprise me…..he's always had a way with the ladies," the tod deadpanned. "Don't worry, I won't divorce you if this isn't still going on…..we'll just need to talk to a marriage councilor to help us talk about this."

"Stop being such a sourpuss" she head butted his arm, making him looking down at her with an amused expression.

"I said something that I don't know, not something that bleaching my brain won't help me forget," he chuckled, watching her bump his arm again. "Do you got part jackalope in you or something?"

"No," she giggled as he pushed her face away with a large dark-furred paw.

"Care to explain this then?"

"Move your arm and I'll show you," she demanded with a smirk.

"Fine," the fox moved his arm, his wife instantly nuzzling into his side, getting him to chuckle, as he found this adorable. "One of these days, I'll finally be able to understand you little, cudroable fluff bags," her retaliation was pinching his legs between her short, dull claws, however this didn't stop him from jumping in his seat, stifling a yelp of surprise and mild pain.

"Evil, little things too," he whined as an afterthought.

"Stop calling me that then!"

"I will, as soon as you accept that I can call you cute," he pressed his nose against hers challengingly. "Face it, I'm your mate, which means that I'm a part of your family…basically I'm half rabbit now, Carrots."

"That's not how it works, it would be like…..well…what words can a fox only say to another fox?"

"I'm not sure we have one…..actually, I've heard some call each other pelt, and they get offended if other animals call them that, including other foxes….."the fox's eyebrows furrowed and his muzzle wrinkled ever so slightly as he thought about this….."It….it might be gang associated now that I think about it," his tone lowered as he trailed off, the night that he was shot flashing before his eyes. Having no desire to have his mind recall that memory in detail he brought them back to their original topic. "So, why can't I call you cute?"

"We've been over this how many times now? You know that it's demeaning to rabbits."

"But that's not how I'm using it, that's a you thing, it's the emotions that I attach to it," he expressed softly to her. "You know that I wouldn't say it to hurt you…maybe to tease and rile you up a bit, because you're rather adorable when you're hopping mad," her eyes blinked with a precise slowness, a murderous intent gleaming from her cunning amethysts. For once in his life, the fox officer felt that he may have gone too far this time.

"Fox is going to die," she hissed through her teeth, grabbing a hold on his tie once more, tugging on it forcefully, so they were eye level.

"Com…..come on, Cott-Cottontail, I was just messing," he tried to tried to console her, but nothing he said was having any real affect.

"Is that so, because I thought you were being serious," she coed in a sickly sweet voice, barely a centimeter between their respectively sized noses, at the same time she pulled the knot of his tie up underneath his throat till it became uncomfortable.

"Knock it off…..this is actually starting to hurt a little," he growled, as it was starting to hinder his breathing.

"Going to behave?" the pressure from the knot lessened, to which the vulpine took in a deep breath of air.

"Sure…doesn't matter though, because one of these days you'll finally give in."

"And one of these days' I'll finally understand what's going on up here," the rabbit flicked his head with the tip of claw, after which she hopped out of the chair, making her way in the direction of the spare room.

"Hmmmm, going to bed already?"

"No, my parents told me they'd be calling tonight," his partner paused under the doorway to the room they were being lended. "They said somewhere between eight and nine, so I'm gonna wait for them."

"Alright, I'll see you there in a bit anyways," with that said, she closed the door behind her.

The reynard excused himself from the table a few moments later, as he finished off the few remaining fries and vegetables off is plate. As he entered the kitchen, he noticed that the various pots, pans and bowls that had been used to both cook and serve dinner had apparently been washed and put away. This was something he had said that he'd do tonight, but it seemed someone had already beaten him to it. Shrugging his shoulders, he put his plate in the dishwasher, only to proceed to the sofa his mate had been occupying earlier, pulling himself into it and stretching out. His eyes darted at the other Interspecies couple in the apartment, who had their eyes fixated on the screen. Well, one of them at least, the wolverine's eyes were closed as she slept, if her chest rising in deep even breaths was anything to go by. The wolf's eyes left the movie to give him a momentary glance, drawing a smile from the older male as he gestured at the sleeping predator in his arms with his eyes, before rolling them.

The tod let out silent amused breaths through his nose, his own eyes focusing on the television, seeing that it was the original Independence Day. Having seen this countless times before, he wiggled his phone from his pocket to pass the time. There was always the option to join his wife with the Muzzle Time with her parents, but he wanted to let them have their time with their daughter. That, and they still weren't all that comfortable with the entire prospect of them being together. Things had gotten better between his partner's family and him, but them accepting that he was her husband was difficult for most of them. The ones who had accepted them right off the bat were her brothers from the second litter, in particular Tristen, the tallest of his brother in laws, who stood at about his height, minus the ears. The reason to that was unclear to him, as were a great many things at the moment.

At the top of it all was the financing they were going to need for a house, they had the money to put down the necessary percent but what would really be a knife in their side was furniture. The storage container that he owned still had a decent amount left, mainly chairs, desks, a table or two, bookshelves, dressers and a great number of bed frames. What they didn't have were couches, mattresses, or even blankets and covers. Also they were a bit down in the clothes department now, all that they still possessed were a week's worth of clothes each. They couldn't exactly afford these if they put down the down initial down payment of the house including the additional additions to the monthly payment. Everything would work if they worked through this carefully, but the expenses that were worrying him were the things they needed to replace. There were a few solutions to this problem that they could utilize, some of which he knew his partner wouldn't agree to…..and some he didn't want to resort to either.

By far the easiest was to dig into what was left of his con-artist money, something he hadn't touched since he had turned over a new leaf. Roughly, there was a hundred maybe two hundred thousand dollars left, as he had given the rest to Finnick who needed start up money to purchase an apartment complex, which he was now the tenant of. The rest he had given to his other friend Flash, as they had known each other since they went to school together. It was to help him and Priscilla start their life together, a more financial wedding gift for the two. The rest he had hidden outside of Zootopia, in twelve different suitcases, buried a few feet beneath the surface. not the wisest idea, but he had never truly trusted banks. Originally he had kept all his money in books, cushions, behind picture frames, kept in cereal boxes in the pantry, if an animal could imagine a hiding place he had hid his money in. It was money that he didn't want to touch or do anything with as he now considered it to be dirty money. If there was ever a time to dig it back up, it was now. Now that he thought about it, he could have always given it to some charity that was helping children.

The second option would require a lot less time….but just as equally left a bad taste on his tongue. Judy and him could approach Mr. Big to ask him for some help with their dilemma, which he'd probably be happy to help the Godmother of his granddaughter. He was the Godfather, but there was still a considerable gap in trust where the arctic shrew and him were concerned. From how things were before a certain rabbit officer had shown up, they were much better, as there weren't as many awkward moments between the rodent and predator. It was to be expected that the business-animal in addition to crime lord was still wary with him. He had offered him a home when everyone else kicked him to the curb, fed him from his table, purchased him new clothes, more importantly given him a home. The way he had repaid the shrew for his kindness by hustling him, there was not further way he could have disrespected him. What was worse, is that Mr. Big had treated and even considered him to be a son, and he had gone bit the hand that fed him. As much trouble he had been for the older mammal, he considered him to be his dominant father figure in life, as his hadn't done a single thing for him, not even paying child-support.

He'd much rather unearth his last reserve of hidden cash, and ask his surrogate father of sorts for help then fall so low as to succumb to a bank for a loan. His credit score was fine, despite his not so honest income, and was very business savvy, but his previous experiences with banks had been less than enjoyable. When Finnick and him needed a loan to set up a valid business which had been centered around an amusement park for predators, they had been denied without a proper explanation. The short fox had ranted on for hours about how it was because they were foxes, he agreed to an extent, but they had gone in wearing their usual attire, well the fennec had been wearing a black shirt with a wolf's skull design and a pair of blue shorts. This was to be expected though, they were living in Finnick's van at the time. Then there was the time they were forcefully removed, when a security guard had stomped on his tail, the shorter predator instantly getting on the case of the much larger prey, which happened to be a hippo.

The red-furred law enforcer's eyes widened a little as he stopped at a link to a news report on a furbook posting by one of his friends. Clicking on it, it took him to the ZNN's website. The header of the article was entitled, _Mayor Lionheart's Latest Response to Interspecies_. Scrolling down the page he read the interview one of the city's leading journalists had with Zootopia elected figure. It was similar to the address the felidae had given the week before to the Anti-Interspecies protesterss, in addition to that he discussed how the city's inhabitants should try and to live in harmony, not to go against one another just because of who they were mates to, as at the end of the day it didn't really make any difference. That hadn't been taken all that well by the protesterss who claimed that their voice wasn't being heard. Today's interview wasn't all that different from the other, except that the member of the press was inquiring what their mayor planned on doing to lessen the violent acts committed to Interspecies couples, and if he suspected that the protesterss were somehow connected to it.

The mayor had chosen not to comment as it wasn't his place to pick sides in these situations such as these. The vulpine's eyes scrolled further down the page, skimming through the interview, till he stopped, catching his partner's and his names. It was nothing more than an inquiry about if the animals that had broken into their home and vandalized it had been apprehended. This he knew wasn't the case, as Chief Bogo would contact them the moment the station had confirmation. As of yet, all they had were a pawful of leads, many of which had led to dead ends. In the weeks that had followed, one other Interspecies couple's home had been broken into, along with multiple acts of verbal violence. As of yet, no reports of any murders, or missing animals…..at least related to Interspecies animals. The cape buffalo's suspicions about the missing animals case he was working on had become worse, as there were now eleven missing, in addition to the murdered one they had found a few weeks prior. Unlike with the Night Howlers, it was both predators and prey that had disappeared. One could only wonder if this was associated with the city being so stirred up with Anti-Interspecies groups and the animals protesting against them.

Whatever the reasons, everyone at the station had been busy these last few weeks, more officers being called out in riot gear to put a stop to protesters that had gotten out of hand. Many of them were searching the city high and low for these missing animals, questioning friends and relatives, checking hours upon hours of video footage to try and discover what happened to them. At the end of the day, it was rather exhausting work with how things currently were. His mate and him had been assigned to riot teams seven times over the last two weeks. Three of which they actually had to do something other than standing there as a sign of authority, his nose still stung from the tear gas. This was all because some of the protesters had set fire to some-animal's car, as well as smashing windows to stores and houses. As the chief reminded everyone in the morning briefings, this would end eventually, it couldn't last forever because everyone would get bored of it soon enough. If the last two days were any consolation, his statement was holding true as there were seemingly fewer protesters then there had been the last several weeks. The second missing animals case still had officers scrambling frantically as they investigated every possible tip off, every abandoned building, waiting impatiently for warrants to further their searches.

As such, in addition to the emotional stress the first rabbit and fox officer had burdening them, they were also physically exhausted by the end of the day, along with their friends and co-workers. Mr. Wilde had suffered twice as many headaches then he usually went through in a week, but he honestly wasn't surprised as he had way too many things on his mind. Mrs. Wilde on the other paw was suffering with a great deal more hind-paw cramps, making it painful for her to move in the evenings. With the events of the previous week and the one the partners had gotten through, they were thankful they were being given three days off to recuperate. Tomorrow morning he planned on doing nothing more than sleeping, that was until they had to head over to his mothers. He was certain that his mate wouldn't attempt to get up early to do morning exercises, if she did he'd just have to persuade her to stay cuddled up with him for a few hours longer.

Thinking of which, the fox's heavy lids forced themselves further apart as he glanced at the time on his phone. It was nearing eleven. Somehow, three hours had crept by without his notice, his mind sluggishly realizing that he had dozed off. Lifting his head from the couch cushion which was built into the arm, he noticed that all the lights were off, the entire room was pitch black. Shannon and Lance were gone too, apparently they had gone off to bed without waking him up. Arching his back and stretching his limps out till there were satisfying pops, he rolled off of the comfortable surface, landing quietly on all four of his paws, only to stretch out again, raising his back end up into the air till his spine felt less stiff. Shaking his head after yawning he silently padded over to the spare room's door, easily navigating himself around the living room, remaining on all fours. It was late, his body was sore all over, and he was above all else, just too lazy to stand up, at least till he had to reach for the door knob.

Stepping in, he found that a certain bunny was already beneath the covers, having nodded off a while ago it seemed. After he had stripped himself down to only his bare fur, he crawled in next to her, wrapping an arm around her waist and resting his had atop hers. He laid his tail across her shins, providing her with some extra warmth, and something apparently hug as she wrapped her arms around it, holding it to her chest. It couldn't be argued, it was so much better to be pressed up against her in bed then sleeping alone on the couch. Sleep didn't find him for a number of hours, his mind and body fully awake from the nap it had woken up from earlier, what's more he was always restless at nights. This was due to his kind being naturally nocturnal animals, as such at a certain time at night their bodies produced more energy to stay up longer, if they hadn't napped throughout the day. It was irritating, as he'd rather be asleep with his mate, but this was one of the things he had come to accept and simply live with since whining about it never helped. It wasn't as bad as it sounded, as he got the opportunity to listen to his mate's rhythmic and peaceful breathing. Besides, it gave him time to simply enjoy holding her in his arms, without having to worry about the phone ringing most of the time, or someone coming in thus forcing them to pull away. Some nights it was enough to convince him to fall asleep as well, but this wasn't one of those nights. It was roughly past midnight when he once again fell into sleeps welcoming arms.

* * *

 **HI: I decided to wait to take Nick and Judy to Nocturnal District to spend the day with Nick's Mother (Victoria I believe is her name, I read that in a forum, a few other sites, including Zootopia's wiki). This is mainly because I was at a loss of ideas this week, and this one happened to pop into my head, and I enjoyed the idea of going more into what it's like living with Lance and Shannon. At the end of this chapter I realized, I could have done a chapter with Nick and Judy working with riot control…man that would have been a great chapter. Or maybe them going more into this missing animals case that I have added. Erhhhhhhh, well, there's always time to do this in the next few chapters or so, ;). I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter all the same, because I sure did. Now, regarding what's coming after the next chapter, well I got to say that there is some pretty interesting stuff about to come up pretty soon. More will be revealed in the next chapter. Are you excited, because I am! Now we go onto answering questions, comments and concerns that have come up. First off we will be staring off with a concern made by Soildier in a PM, this is in no ways a cry out for help or to torch you. Opposite, this is a thanks to bringing this to my attention. This is what the messages says (I apologize in advance for the giant word wall hat this holds, please read this though XD).**

 _ **You've probably noticed a few reviews I've posted. I like your style of writing, and I'm currently excited for everything coming next. I just saw something that stuck out to me. Please don't get upset or defensive, and I've asked others before I decided to ask you. To make sure I wasn't just seeing things.**_

 _ **In your authors note of Chapter 17, you asked people to check out upplet's story. Though, what garnered my attention was you immediately said, "Not as detailed as mine, but definitely has captured Nick and Judy in a way that rivals my own."**_

 _ **It just sounded like you dissed him at the same time you complimented him. I was just wondering if you that was your intent, and I'm not trying to start drama. Just wondering...**_

 _ **-Soildier**_

 **As you have asked others on this website maybe even elsewhere, I hope that you deliver this message to them to update them on this. A while ago as it states on chapter 17, I did in fact mention and suggest you check out my dear friend and who I consider to be my writer-brother on this archive, Upplet and his amazing fanfiction When Instincts Fall. Now that I read this, it does sound like I am shooting him down, but that is quite the opposite of what I mean to do. I regard his story equal and a little higher than my own by how he has captured Zootopia in his unique way. The two of us collaborate ideas and ask each other for input when we need, it I have even discussed with him the Zistopia story that is planned to come up in the next few months. It was not my intention to diss him, but what I was stating is this. Upplet himself has even said to me in our messaging that I am well immersed with detail and emotion with the characters in my story, not to say that his isn't either but that is one of the major difference between our stories. His hold much more dialogue and much shorter time in the characters mind, which is something that I envy because I wish I could sum up paragraphs and what the characters are feeling and thinking in fewer words. On this website I see upplet as an equal as I do with every single writer on fanfiction that acts with respect and humble with their fellow fictionists. I sincerely mean this when I say, it was not my intent to have that A/N come off as me dissing upplet, I would sooner blind myself then do such a thing. I hope that this made things clear for you Soildier and everyone else that read that and was confused by what I trying to say.**

 **Now onto, answering the questions that have come up and everything else that I want to address.**

 _ **TheMentalAdventurer**_

 _ **Well that got interesting and downhill right quick. Although, while I don't think it matters too much, I find it odd the BOTH Nick and Judy tested sterile. That just seems odd to me, even if it doesn't change the fact they can't have kids together.**_

 **Thanks so much for the reviews, it means a lot that you're enjoying this and expressing this, as it will help clarify things for other readers. So, in regards to your review, I just wanted to clear this up, as I see that this might be confusing because of the way I wrote the section. Nick and Judy aren't Sterile, I was referring to their possible children if they decided to slice the necessary DNA needed for creation. Because they are different species they don't have compatitive chromosomes, as well all know or we'd have some rather interesting animal mixes out there. As much as I'd love to do Roxes, Boxes, Funnies and so many other names we've given the name of fox and rabbit children, it just adds more struggle for these two to have a family.**

 _ **Soildier**_

 _ **It's sad to see all these terrible events happen to our couple, but change rarely is pleasant. Hopefully, this turns into a positive in someway.**_

 _ **Great job on the drama/emotional details of this chapter. It's what makes this worth reading!**_

 _ **Lastly, I do see some errors in this chapter; let me know if you want me to show them.**_

 _ **Can't wait for what's next! :D**_

 **I agree, but that's why I'm doing them, because society isn't nice. I love the aspect of Zootopia having this more peaceful feel to it, but if we swapped our worlds around and we were animals, it wouldn't be all that great. Then again the movie only shows us parts, we don't get to feel and see all that lies underneath the face of it all. Now onto your review, thank you for taking time to leave one for me, I cherish every single one, and everyone out there that is following, and putting me on their favorite list in addition to sharing this across the internet forums. It wouldn't be possible without all of you. Sorry, went off a little bit, ;). I am always happy for errors to be sent in my way, if is word usage vs meaning, spelling mistakes, and so forth. Send one to me in a PM or in the reviews, I don't mind.**

 _ **HellTurkey**_

 _ **Oh boy... Where to begin. At the start maybe, that sounds proper**_

 ** _I like this story, there. Having that out of the way, so that you know that the rest of this won't be any kind of me being mean._**

 ** _First of, I understand that this is a fanfiction. A fiction based around something, something thats not officially in the canon of whatever. I know its weird for me saying that, but I have to adress that i understand what a fanfiction is._**

 ** _Second, I understand the theme of this story. Basicly the same, but taken a step further, as Zootopia. As such I understand that you had to make the entire setup to suit your needs for the story. And you did nicely, without too much bending or going off the road to create situations in which the story could well...exist._**

 ** _Alas, I have issues with it. The story overall I mean._**

 ** _First issue is that this story kinda...its on a highway and its never stopping. ITs always on the move, nothing gets resolved on "screen" but its just mentioned, like you forgot and you panicked about it so you go like "Oh yea and this got solved because stuff"_**  
 ** _Like the muzzle thing, it went so like ... you made it a plot point, and then droped it, and then just mentioned it. Would anything happen if it was written out? No... I understand its hard to write slice of life, as such we have to make a story around something. First we pick a theme, then around and within that theme, we make issues so that the characters can expirience them and act upon them. But you can't just make stuff seem important, and then just drop them. Another example is the family trust. It went like ... We had that one scene with the talk, and then just a mention of it and then bam we're back in Zootopia._**  
 ** _Imagine if you wrote the same way about the shooting, like "Oh no Nick got shoot" and then just like next chapter "It was 3 weeks and nick was bad but now his good MOVING ON" ... instead you a) Had the entire thing resolve itself "on screen" from start to bottom where it mattered. So you had the initial action, the drama, then the court and issues with that, and the entire story since then you have those little throw backs to when Nick is feeling hurt. Thats nicely done. I don't mean to harp on it as if its a big thing ...well it is, but eitherway its just eye rolling at worst._**

 ** _Second, cursing. its just ... you know it felt so forced and awkward. Cursing can help you obtain certain emotions, or empower the ampitude of said emotion, or even shift the emotional load in a sentence. like "What the F*CK do you think you're doing" and "What do you think you're F*UCKING doing" seems similar, but has a different msg, different tone behind it. I mean, maybe its just me, but I think I saw maybe 2-3 curse words used "properly" ... other just seemed like a cheap way of invoking emotions_**

 ** _And you know what? I'm propably wrong, I might be. I won't disagree if you say that I am._**

 ** _Again, do I like this? I do. Hence why I read all of it, and I cared enough about this story, and you as the creator of it, that I posted this msg. It does sound snobby, like I know what I'm talking about. I don't most of the time_**

 **You are not wrong in some of the cases that you made, furthermore thankyou for enjoying the story and leaving your personal opinion in this review. Firstly you are right about the cursing, it's very difficult to put curses in with these characters, something that I personally have struggled with throughout the story, but I feel like that I am getting better with it as time goes on. As you stated, curses are used to explain a characters take in a situation, it would be as you put it. The way that you set up a deliverance of a character cussing is important, and also who that character is. I will be working on those throughout the updated chapters, if you could get in contact with me through Reviews or PM, I'd appreciate you helping out with circumstances where it felt forced. Now regarding the not touched topics. With Nick's mother, it hasn't been resolved, I just want to state that now, things may not as be intense as they were at the hospital, but they have not made up. Reason to the next chapter, as I was leaving it for the second arc of the story. Now with the muzzles….I must admit I feel ashamed with that content, because I did completely forget about it, and I will be going back to it in an update. I'm sorry that it feels like that I am being lazy in some of these areas, but after writing a monster of a chapter each of these are, you sometimes forget about the finite and smalls things that you add into the story. If you see more of these please, please send them in a list of them in a PM, or I might forget them. I found your review both helpful and insightful. Thanks again for your insightful review.**

 _ **MageofDuality**_

 _ **It may just be me but the vixen and raccoon mentioned in the first chapter, is that a reference to Sly Cooper and Carmelita Fox? Again may just be me**_

 **I'm glad that someone has picked on this, you are not the first actually, and I've been meaning to answer this question for a while now. You are correct, this is a Sly Cooper and Carmelita Fox reference, I personally ship those two and they have been suggested in this story, they have no part in this story and their professions have changed. I have added quite a few of these references. I even mention Fox McCloud from startfox, when Nick is talking about one of his fellow con-artists associates.**

 **That is about it on my end you guys, thanks for all the support you guys are giving this story, and I have even noticed that folks are mentioning this story on Reddit, Tumblr and other assorted websites. Thanks everyone, you guys are the best. I'm glad that so many of you enjoy what I am writing and that so many of you are passing this along to your friends. With that this is yours truly, Reverend Archangel signing off and wishing you a relaxing and enjoyable weekend. Review, PM, Favorite/Follow me or the story if you feel so inclined. Again thanks all of you for being such a great and receptive audience, I hope that you will all join me for this planned Zistopia story as well.**


	23. Nocturnal Distrit Part I

_**Chapter XXIII**_

 _ **Nocturnal District**_

 _ **Part I**_

"Mind explaining something to me?" Zootopia's one and only fox officer posed to his partner.

"Hmmmmm…." the rabbit hummed, her eyes zeroed in on the screen to her phone, as it had been since they taken a seat on the train.

"You guys live in borrows, live underground for the most part, what I don't understand is how you're practically blind in the dark. Is that a you thing or….urhhhhhhh Carrots?" the male trailed off, noticing that the prey's attention was somewhere else. "Hello…..ground control to Hopps, do you read me?" he chuckled, taking this as a challenge. "Whiskers…..you there…..come in?" waving a paw into her field of vision seemed to do the trick, as she tore her eyes away from the cellular device.

"Ummmmm, sorry, did you say something?" the doe asked bashfully, switching her phone off,

"Who….me?" the tod pointed at himself, after taking a look around them. "No, I've just been sitting here and running my mouth, how about yourself?"

"I….sorry about that," the phone soon disappeared into her pocket. "My folks are still asking if we need them to come out. Urrrrrrrh, they're killing me."

"How many times have you told them no?"

"That was the ninety-seventh time. Seriously, we're fine," she slumped against her seat, crossing her arms, rolling her eyes in irritation. "It's like they still don't understand that I'm an adult, I can take care of myself just fine thank you."

"I wouldn't say that," the predator rested his arm behind her on the seat, his eyes not leaving her visage, albeit all he saw was one side of it. "They have every right to be worried about you; dumb little bunny, big city," her eyes met his, only to sharply glare at him. "Don't get me started on how you're a magnet for disaster either," he started listing them on his fingers. "Condescending attitude to foxes, clearly has bad judgment since you threatened a crime lord with the law, has a tendency to get involved in matters that simply aren't hers, drags her partner into wild chases, hurts said partner who is a fox, beats up her mate, is the smallest officer on the ZPD….trust me the list goes on," he declared.

"If I didn't trail after you that day based on years of my parents scolding, that foxes are trouble. You wouldn't be here."

"Not complaining, Sweet Bun, just letting you know why you're parents are concerned."

"If only if it was that easy," she rubbed her eyes with the back of her paw.

"What's really up?"

"You already know that I'm the only one that survived in my litter."

The other off-duty officer nodded in understanding, his expression having become serious.

"If you think about it….I shouldn't have survived, but what do you know, I did," the younger mammal exclaimed, her voice weak in its optimism. "Well, my parents have always been worried about me…about everything I've done. Finding out that I wanted to be a police officer at the age of nine, that was sort of a shock to them…and the rest of my family. That and there had never been a rabbit officer, ever," a sigh rolled off her tongue. "They're proud of me, but they're scared of seeing you or another officer from the station showing up at their door with bad news."

The vulpine looked down at the lapin, thinking of what to say to bring them out of this depressing subject. It was a risk, heck half a year ago they were living with the very reality their parents worried about. He had come so close to the darkness only to be pulled back to the light, but he could faintly remember what he felt, the emotions and the thoughts running through his slowing mind as he approached what he thought was the end of his life. There was shock initially….a bout of unfathomable fury, guilt for leaving behind his loved ones the way he was…finally it fell to acceptance.

When he was certain that he was about to take the wispy black hands of death, his mind had accepted it. Judy and his mother would certainly be devastated, but in the end they'd be able to cope with it. Though, as they had learned in the academy and the close calls that they had, it was a part of the risk. To stick their necks out and do the right thing, if not to uphold the law, then to protect their fellow officers and the other animals of the city, so that they wouldn't have to do it.

This was something he understood more than most of the animals at the station, having gone so far only to be brought back on the brink. For each day that he woke up with his wife in his arms, to face another day, he was grateful, having found a new appreciation for life, an experience that no other would ever replicate. In regards to what his partner's parents felt with her on the force, he truly did understand the stress they were going through every day. Watching her take on criminals that were eight even ten times their height and colossally outweighed them, it felt as though his heart was trying to burst from his chest.

The obvious reason to this, was that she looked at things differently and this hardly changed, even when the roles were switched, when she was watching him take on a criminal alone, either from being knocked down or too incapacitated to lend in a paw to assist. Her mind perceived it as a necessary risk, to perform their duties, they had to be willing to sacrifice life and limb. The way that she handled the stress of being in a do or die situation, was almost robotic, instant, calculated, to the book…in a way it was heartless. Leading reason why he would call her Robo-Bunny behind her back. Her reaction to him being shot was only the way it was, because she wasn't there with him in the heat of it. There was nothing she could do, so she took the blame for it, when it wasn't anyone but circumstances. Their opposite views and outlooks of the world around them was the real reason why they worked together so well, despite the obvious differences between their species, they balanced on another out.

His cynicisms, and selfishness were what made him more cautious out in the field, not excluding the near death experience, his Law Enforcement Purple Heart a testimony to it. Her parent's worrying about her didn't surprise him all that much, she was brash in the way she executed her duties. Instead of playing the political game as many of them did, if she saw that there was a problem then she'd handle it, swiftly and without mercy.

Her reasoning to it was simple, she saw no reason to delay when they could simply act, every second was precious in a serious situation out in the field. A single lapse in the wrong judgment could lead to innocent animals being hurt, or their fellow law enforcers. They couldn't run through all the possible solutions, they had to choose the one that would put an end to it, complicated, simple, long or short, it didn't matter. From a parent's point of view, it was no surprise that her folks were constantly checking in on her. Though they weren't the only ones, and in that time he had come to a decision, if things truly did take a turn for the worst.

"They have nothing to worry about, nor do you," he settled his arm around her shoulders with a chuckle. "I promised that I'd take it for you," his lips pressed themselves against the top of her skull in a half-hearted smooch. " If we're together…..or if there's enough time for me to act, I'll do everything it takes to make sure you're the one walking away from it. The city doesn't need another skeptical fox like me…and I'm not letting it take the best thing that's happened to it."

"You always lower your own self-value, we're equal," she took his paw and squeezed it tenderly, her tone having risen as she became serious. "I'm glad that you're devoted to having my back, but don't get yourself killed for me."

"Heh, like you have a choice in the matter," he smirked. "No, I'm taking all the glory that death offers for officers for myself. You're invited, but it's about me, not you," the doe shook her head, smiling from him messing around. "See, there's the happy bunny that I like to see," he sung softly, squeezing her even closer.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," as she hugged him she rolled her eyes sarcastically.

"Now that's done with…and we've passed ten minutes or so of this train ride, you going to answer my question from earlier," the predator flashed a small toothy grin at the prey.

"If I knew what you're going on about," she giggled as she shoved them apart, not wanting to be coddled over with affection that much longer. He let her go with a playful disapproving glare.

"Well, if you weren't so absorbed in your phone," he flicked one of her long gray ears, which twitched rigidly in irritation from the contact. "I was asking, if you being blind in the dark is a rabbit thing, or a you thing. I mean, come on you guys dig burrows, live underground and all that."

"I'm not blind, rabbit's eyes don't take in as little light as foxe…."

"Excuse me, Darling. I am a Red-Fox," he gestured a hand over himself. "Red fur, creamy fur on the underbelly and dark brown or black gloves. I'm not like you're dear ol' friend Gideon Grey, he has orange fur, white underbelly and gloveless, or white socks."

"I'm so sorry for my lapse in perception," her words heavy with sarcasm it was almost enough to make him wince. "But no, I'm not blind in the dark. It's just that our eyes can't take in the little amount of light that foxes do, especially _Red Foxes_ ," she overstressed it.

"That's a shame, because Nocturnal District is just about pitch black, Cottontail," he threw his arms behind his head, stretching his limbs outs. "Guess you're going to have to head back, don't want you making a scene by crashing into everything."

"Hardy, har, har. That's definitely how I wanted to spend my day off, alone without my favorite predator, Dumb Fox," the vulpes growled, rubbing the extremely sore spot from where his mate had just socked him, having landed the hit on a bruise from the yesterday. The fur would be a considerably darker there tonight, undoubtedly from another bruise. "

"I don't usually mind…..but could you please lay off on punching me, Hon," he mumbled.

"Is that where that wolf kicked you?" her eyes widened in surprise as he nodded grumpily. "I forgot…..I didn't mean to hurt you," she stroked the spot soothingly.

"Next time I suggest we tranq someone….please don't argue. I told you that he was going to put up a fight," his voice trailing off into a silent purr, her downy soft paw felt incredible against the aching spot.

"He had his hands behind his head, we can't just tranq someone because of suspicions or hunches," she felt the impressive bump, a little taken aback, as she hadn't felt it or noticed it last night.

"I know, I know, follow the law, perform our duties admirably, be a sign of inspiration and security," one of his drill sergeants' words echoing in his ears, but his mind soon drifted as he focused onto his mate. "Hmmmmmmm, we're going to have to find you some night vision goggles…..or something, or I could just carry you," he offered.

"It's dark even in the day?"

"Yeah….it's sort of in a dome….mainly beneath the surface," there was no easy way how to explain it, he'd have to simply show her. "If we can find something to help you see, then you'll see," he firmed up, however he added more as an afterthought to himself. "Last time I was here, they had goggle rentals….."

"What do you mean it's beneath the surface, is it like The Underground?"

"No, no, no. Less grandiose then what Bunnyburrows has going," he slouched forward, resting his head in his paws, rubbing at his temples as he tried to recall what his history teacher had told him about the district so many years ago. "This isn't the original district, it burned down sometime in the nineteenth century…"

"The Tax Rebellion of 1873."

"That one, it was all over because food was being over taxed due to the depression, so why not set most of the city on fire, which happened to be lumber at the time. Well it was between Rainforest and the mountains where the fire was the worst," he chuckled, thinking about it. Amusing what animals would resort to when they got riled up over something.

"Well, they originally rebuilt it where Downtown is today. I can't remember all that much about the details, but it was constructed when the metro roughly was. So it started underneath the city, then after the Quake of 1962, designs were made to be built on the surface. I was born in what is Nocturnal District Three."

"Was the subversive section of the district buried?"

"I can't exactly remember, Fluff," he admitted, his memory dodgy on all the stuff he had learned almost two decades ago. "I don't believe so, because I know some guys who live beneath it. Some sections collapsed, a couple dozen deaths and hundreds of injuries. It's been repaired, but most prefer the surface version, it's safer. I don't know if this is true, but I read somewhere, that The Underground and Subversive Nocturnal District were…..or might still be connected by rail."

"I don't know that much about it either, I could ask my Uncle Rimor, since he's worked down there longer than my other siblings," she suggested.

"Would be nice to get my facts straight…I could be throwing a bunch of jumbled up facts," he snickered, ears lowering as they always did when he laughed, teeth flashing as his muzzle wrinkled up. The doe chuckled as well, finding his mood a little contagious.

The couple fell silent after that, simply content with one another's company. Their eyes looked out the windows, though it proved to be pointless, if they were hoping to see anything scenic. What flashed passed the coach's windows were red and mud brown bricks, which were barely illuminated by the lights of the train and the tunnels dim yellow lights. Only every so often they saw an opening, either an a derelict platform stretching for a little ways, or a service tunnel. Once or twice the tod could have sworn that he saw a broken wall, leading off to the old subways. Or, if his eyes weren't playing tricks on him in the lighting, he saw an animal out there, watching them go by, giving a slight wave. There were animals from the Nocturnal District that lived outside the old city and the new, but it was odd seeing them so far out. This left him to question how far the old city stretched, how far did it travel underneath the bright lights of the world above.

Then there were whole sections that they went through, that were completely shrouded in darkness, the lights of the train only breaking them from their spell. From what his eyes caught glimpse of, these areas were crumbling apart, old, decrepit, the city no longer managing funds for them to be taken care of. A pawful of times he saw torn up pieces of news papers, napkins and even dead foliage flutter across the window, the rail-wheels having disturbed them. The best way to describe these areas, was unnatural. Something about them just didn't sit right in his stomach, but the reason to that was simply because of the nightmares he had that resembled these places. The one's that he hurt Judy, or lost control of his body and his feral instincts took over. Not wanting to dwell on these memories, he cast his eyes down to his lap, inspecting his paws.

There were other occasions that he had been here, other than just his dreams. It didn't come up all that often at the station, but once every blue moon someone, or a pack of animals would lose their way in their metro explorations. Either by losing the guides who did tours, or had gotten together to go out on their own. Besides just being illegal, it was negligently idiotic to do this. If one wasn't familiar of the turns, minute milestones, or wasn't equipped for the right scenarios, they could be lost for days or even weeks. He had gotten himself lost, when he had been called in to assist in such a predicament. Seven young adults, had gotten it in their mind that some exploring of the tunnels and old underground cities would be fun. Only to get themselves turned around, backtracked in the wrong directions, separated into smaller groups to hopelessly peddle around the mostly deserted metros.

The search party he had been with had gone off without him as he was examining some prints made by one of the misplaced animals. Eventually, after a great deal of that night, he had found his own way out, since locating his own or any other groups was as fruitful as harvesting crops on the moon. Only to make matters worse his radio had been on the fritz and wouldn't pick up a single frequency, static and strange sounds that oddly enough resembled something from a horror movie, however that was the only abnormal thing that had happened while he was down there.

Where others would have panicked if faced with such a situation, or at least tried to stay put and wait for help. Then again, most folks he knew hadn't shared the same experiences he had. A small percent of animals were unemployed, who generally lived in worn out and discarded duplexes or apartments, most could be found on the streets, in alleyways or just underneath the commonly seen bridge like himself. Having to go through the day in and day out in such appalling conditions made the diminutive tribulations and dramas of life appear to be comedic to him. Spending a few hours lost in the dark in the old subways and early underground districts was a slap on the wrist compared to finding a place to curl up and sleep for a night.

Again, he was an oddity amongst everyone else because of this. No, instead of plopping himself down on a rusting bench or on what was left of a platform, he had gone off and done some exploring of himself. Unlike the missing animals they were searching for, he used a pocket knife that he had picked up down there to engrave marks into the walls and the rails, to find his way back if he got lost. Or in the very least, give a search party a hand in finding him, if they had even been looking for him. There was honestly little to worry about down there, since it was so empty of life, it was animals that one had to watch out for. Moreover, he enjoyed having the time to himself, though was nonetheless relieved to have finally made his way back to the surface, if not in a different district. The chief hadn't been exactly impressed with this when he had reported in, since they had been searching for him as well as the missing animals for a greater deal of the night and early hours of the morning.

"What are you thinking about?" Judy asked, breaking Nick out of his thoughts.

"Just the time that I managed to get lost down in the metro."

"You mean, I was bored and I decided I wanted to go home?" she teased.

"Oh yes, I definitely spent seven to eight hours aimlessly walking about a concrete tomb for my own enjoyment," he snorted, remembering her strangling him in a death hug when he had arrived back on the site that the search parties had started.

"I remember hearing that you and Wolford got yourselves lost with another search and rescue…where was it, oh right the mountains. How you two got lost in the woods is beyond me," he commented.

"Is this a competition now?"

"If it is, you're definitely winning with how absurd it is with you getting yourself into trouble," his arms slid down behind her, encompassing her waist. "All of mine are generally because my partners or units left me behind. How anyone can forget that I'm around is beyond me, I'm usually the shortest and the one whose always talking smack to everyone."

"Chief Bogo was right about that," she mumbled, closing her eyes for a short rest.

"What's that, Carrots. I'm gorgeous, full of energy, old and cranky, young and in my prime…..most annoying fur ball at the ZPD to date? He's said a lot of things to me in his bored and I hate everyone tone."

"Things were definitely quieter before you showed up," she breathed.

"That's hurtful…..that's very hurtful Judith," his voice lacking the usual sly and playful tone it usually held. His emeralds staring down at the top of her head blankly. "You're life would be boring without me….also you wouldn't be a real cop without me," he breathed.

"Right, and you'd still be selling pawpsicles and living underneath a bridge, and that apartment."

"Thanks for reminding me how awful my life was," he chuckled.

"You know I wouldn't want to be anywhere else, not without you, Red," the doe craned her neck back, amethysts meeting emeralds in a tender reunion.

"Sounds good enough to me….so we're even is what I'm hearing," he grinned, barely three centimeters between their noses.

"If that's what it takes to get you to shut up, then yeah."

"Judith Laverne Hopps, one of the rudest bunnies that Stu and Bonnie ever raised," he shook his head with his sleepy grin, more content to look into her eyes then kiss her, for the moment. As they gazed into one another's eyes for a little while, he noticed out of the corners of his eyes that some animals returned their attention down to their phones with disgusted expressions. Most just ignored them, treating them like a any of other couple. The spell, like many before it was broken.

" _Approximately a minute from Vixhall Station…..Approximately a minute from Vixhall Station_ ," the speakers crackled from the mechanical voices notice.

"That's us," the male had pulled away, his black tipped ears sticking up from the announcement

"I still don't understand why we took the train," the doe threw out as she got up, stretching her legs as they were starting to ache from sitting so long.

"Simple, I was too lazy…..and I didn't want to deal with the traffic between Tundra and Downtown."

"It wouldn't be as bad as you're making it out to be," she rolled her eyes with amusement.

"No, if you don't mind wasting four hours of your life."

"That long?!"

"Yep, that's because of all the lights, the traffic jams. We can do it your way next time if you prefer?"

"I'm good thanks."

"Glad that we could sort that out, now take my paw," the tod stood onto his own rear-paws, presenting her with his pads facing the ceiling. She looked up at him questioningly, not understanding the sudden request, as they normally just let it happen.

"Mind if I ask why?"

"You want to trip and hurt that cute little nose of yours?"

The said sensory twitched in aggravation from that, amethysts glaring daggers into his. It would appear that he still didn't have a free pass with that one. Her response was soon made for her when the doors opened, revealing a fairly dim lit platform, to which she placed her smaller paw in his, their fingers slipping between the gaps, knitting themselves together cordially. Without another word, they stepped off the train, dodging and weaving their way through larger mammals which could have easily trampled or tripped over them, either from not noticing them because of their height, or simply because their attention was engrossed in other matters. The predator officer's eyes studied their surroundings, having had experience with being trodden on in the past, he wasn't too eager to reenact them.

Still, he found it preferable for his hind-paws to be squashed, rather than have his tail crushed underpaw. The only real were larger prey and predators, such as rhinos, elephants, bears, gorillas, hippos, buffalos, lions and a pawful of others, as being flattened by one of them was a one way ticket to a hospital or a morgue. Death or a broken leg sounded much more reasonable to him then his tail inflicting damage, as it was one of the primary reasons that he was able to stand upright, acting as a counterweight to insure his balance. How his partner was able to stand at all amazed him, since her tail was so small, more of a fluffy little cushion than anything else.

There was no way that her ears were helping her to stand on her hind-paws, as they were light; in his opinion they openly defied nature with just how light they exactly were. That and also the way they perked up, also at the same time they were extremely flexible, able to fold themselves in half or go floppy at a whims notice. The most his could do were to work independently from the other, so as to better locate the source a noise was originating from, other than this they didn't do much else then twitch constantly. This wasn't to demean his mate's ears, since he found them to be one of the more alluring traits of the rabbit, coming in a close second with her little pink nose, but nothing held a candle to her beautiful eyes. Despite them being an unnaturally purple, it did little to take away from how breathtakingly stunning they really were.

Thinking of the doe that they belonged to, who he was at the present moment escorting, his own eyes settled on what was around them as they had just gotten up to the surface. All the subways and rail-lines that were connected to, or went through the district only did so beneath the surface, as the contractors handling the dome had decided to cut back on expenses, so they simply built it over one of the busier sections of Downtown's metro system. Which had proven to be pointless in the end with repair costs, along with the durable glass having to be expanded as the district and city did. Though considerably smaller than Zootopia's other districts, Nocturnal's dome was by far one of the most astonishing engineering feats of the city. The way the glass like material darkened during the day and cleared when it was night, how it experienced the weather the rest of the city was, every little detail about it was fascinating, if an animal was interested in that sort of thing.

Nick didn't dwell on it all that much, as it didn't strike him as being all that important. As long as it kept the sun out of his and other nocturnal animal's eyes than it was doing its job. The one drawback about being in his birth district was that it was almost impossible to feel the heat of the sun rays through the darkened barrier. On windless, cloudless, and very dry spells in the season it was almost unbearably hot. Making the residents feel stuffy and intoxicated from the lack of humidity. Feeling the suns warm rays on his bare fur was a pleasant way to spend any afternoon, but this district wasn't the place for it. Instead, what he had put up with as a cub was the intolerable dry periods, nights tossing and turning in bed because he was just too hot to sleep.

These were memories that didn't relate all that well with the present, unless it was to remind him of the years he spent here with his mother. Times that he could remember him recalling that he dreamed wouldn't end, as all children did. Things were different now, he was older, more cynical and bitter than his younger self would ever imagine him being. Albeit, things weren't as bad as he made them out to be, his partner opening his eyes to this. There was still a lot of good in the world, a lot, but he simply chose to focus on the bad and to judge everything more harshly because of it. Such as this visit to his mother, other animals would be looking forward to seeing their parents, making up for fight they had, letting wounds finally heal. That wasn't him though, he was imagining the worst case scenarios, all of them stranger than the last.

The rabbit, whose paw he was holding in a gentle grasp, showed no signs of exuberating any of the anxieties that were currently going through his mind. In fact, from what he could pick up on it didn't seem like she was doing all that much, other than her ears working overtime, catching on the faintest of noises. Once in a while she'd press herself against him, as animals that she couldn't see brushed past her. Slipping his paw free from hers, he instead settled it back around her waist, keeping her close to his side. It wouldn't do if the cities first rabbit officer ended up disappearing, especially under his care. This apparently reassured her, as he felt her arm circle around his middle, her smaller paw balling up the fabric of his shirt.

"Ni…..Nick, I can't…well I can barely see anything," the doe confessed in a whisper.

"Don't worry about it that much, Carrots, I'm here," he cooed, using his paw to rub her side reassuringly. "My mom's place isn't too far from here, unless you want to go find some goggles?"

"I…I'll b e fine, just don't leave me alone," she chuckled nervously, paw tightening its grasp on his shirt as she felt someone bump into them, a binturong looking up from his phone to mouth an apology, his expression grim. The fox's eyes lingered on the other male for a few seconds as he went on his way.

"…Nah, don't worry, I won't. I think Bogo would kill me if you ended up missing," he rubbed the top of her head with the course fur of his chin, making her giggle from the sensation, before pressing the side of his face against hers, a little too insistently .

"Wh-what do you think you're doin…that's hurts!" she hissed, pulling her own muzzle away from his, glaring in the area she thought his was, but was a few centimeters off. "Are you trying to scent mark me?"

"Wh…No!" he exclaimed in a sharp, soft voice. "Last time you kicked me out of the bedroom. Couches are comfortable and all, but being snuggled up with you is way more appealing," he backed away from her, ruffling the gray fur on the top of her head. "You have to start putting more faith in me, Rabbit. I have a little more class than that."

"Look…let's just forget about it," the doe dragged across the front of her muzzle. "Next time, could you be a little bit gentler," she squeezed an imaginary grape or berry between the tips of her thumb and index claw.

"Yeah, no problem, Carrots," the tod nodded, placing a paw on the backside of his neck. "Really, I forget that you're fur isn't as thick as mine…..also that you got sensitive beneath it."

"I'm not sensitive! If you had fur as short as mine you'd understand."

"Well, I don't. So we're never going out if it's a rabbit thing, or just a you things," he tapped the edge of pink triangular nose. "For the record though, you whine like a rabbit, secondly, a tomato would feel out of place next to you," he stroked said cheeks with the backs of his fingers, only to have her push them away in embarrassment.

"Don't be like that, you know that I'm only teasing you."

"And scent marking me, you know it's on the same lines as being invasive and bugging someone so you can tack them."

"None of that is arguable, you dear little bunny. Let's see where you're wrong, whoopsie numsie one, I didn't scent mark you, since my scent glands are located between the pads of my paws," he brought them close to her face, clenching them close and opening them. "Whoopsie number two, I'm your mate so you always have my scent on you, meaning I can differentiate you from the other million clone look alikes there are of you. Final whoopsie you made which should be easy for you to spot, is that rabbit's are sensitive, suspicious little animals who are easily frightened of things they don't understand," he bent over smiling so he was better able to be on her level, his warm breath washing over her muzzle from how close their noses were. "Did I leave anything out, Fluff? Or am I just talking too fast for you again?"

"Hmmmmm," she hummed with a forced grin, a dark look overshadowing her eyes. "You forgot the most important one, you have to ask before you can do that kind of stuff."

"I didn't mark you," he sighed, truly rolling his emeralds in annoyance.

"Then why were you nuzzling me with the scent glands on you're muzzle?"

"For the last time, I did not mark you. Their close to the end of my ja…" his muzzle snapped shut, wondering what she had felt if it wasn't the pointy fur barbs that were a part of his scenting glands. Running a paw over his muzzle, he felt that some of his fur was courser and a bit longer than he was accustomed to having it.

"Going to admit it?' she challenged with a playful glare, winding him up like this had become more enjoyable than winning the argument.

"If only if there was something to go off on here, Officer. For your information though, I haven't groomed and trimmed lately so my furs kind of a mess."

"Of course it is, and I'm Gerenuk Goodhorn," she snickered.

"If I knew you were going to be this much trouble, I would have…."

"What? Found another mate?"

"No, I'm rather addicted to the taste of rabbit," she let out a groan of disgust, covering her eyes and face with her ears. "I would have talked to your folks about marrying you, and what I'd be in for."

Well you can't, that's what you get for being such a Dumb Fox."," the younger officer grinned triumphantly. "But that's okay, because you have me to help you with all the difficult decisions, Slick," she meant to poke him in the chest with a claw, but her aim was off. Instead it made contact with his jugular, making him cough and growl. "I….got you in the throat didn't I?"

"No, you got me in the eye," he rolled his eyes, keeping calm in their quietly heated talk, only to shake his head as her eyes widened, as she took him seriously. "Relax, you got me in the throat, Hon," he gave her a soft squeeze, before pulling his phone from his pocket, seeing that it was coming up for ten hundred. They were a block or three from where his mother's residence.

"Jerk!" she tried to scold, but his lips pressing against hers made the words die in her mouth, her body relaxing, as did her thoughts. When he pulled away, she held the corner of his lip, lavishing it with tender nibbles before letting it go.

"I'm never going to understand you, am I?"

"Don't give up yet. One day you might actually solve the questions about me. But that's something that you'll have to wait for," he breathed with amusement, letting his back-paws guide them across the asphalt walkway, leading them to his mother's house.

"We're holding your mother up," the lapin stated, her back becoming rigid, one of her paws curling itself into a fist, the muscles in her jaw clenching tight.

The doe's voice had returned to its usual pitch, although there was a hint of irritation in it. More than likely, it was because he still refused to spill all that much about himself to her, who he was before they met, just who he was before they met. It was something he was trying to work on with her, but that required him opening up to her, dropping the emotional armor he had become accustomed to cladding himself in.

 _Never let them see that they get to you_. These words had been with him like an unwavering and parasitic tick throughout his life, starting from the night that the other scouts had attacked him. Not only had he taken it literally with the world, but with those that he loved, his friends and family. One by one he had driven them away, even if all they were trying to do was get close or to help him when he was upset, brushing them aside beneath wisecracking and witty comments. It was one of the outcomes from the trauma he had suffered, or that was what the counselor his mother had sent him to see when he was ten informed him, as his detached behavior had been getting out of hand. Not that he was getting himself in trouble, just that he would suffer episodes from that night, and fall in and out of depressed moods. Locking it all up and laughing about everything, making jokes and acting cynical towards the world was one of the ways he dealt with it. Only very recently, if five years was recent, had he started to truly open himself up again, but it was a difficult transgression.

It wasn't a question of trust, though it did have something do with it, as his trust had led him to believe that those other children were friends, or in the very least be safe with. Working alongside other officers that watched out for him as he did for them, being part of a community essentially of animals that didn't judge one another by their species, but their deeds. It had made a big difference in his life, making him feel that he belonged, that he wasn't just another stranger greeted by suspicion and insalubrious remarks. His mother he trusted, but there were things that he had done, about himself that he wouldn't ever tell her, simply because he was too afraid to know what her thoughts would be. Judy though, there was no one else that he trusted more besides her, never had she turned away from him, or judged him harshly for who he was, or the details about his past that he had chosen to share with her.

The root to his problems, was that he was reluctant to move on, to completely turn over and become a new animal. The reason to this, was because of habit, as simple as that. He gone through life for so long hiding who he was, never revealing who was really beneath his sleepy smile and half lidded emerald eyes. To completely let it go, it felt impossible. It felt to him like it would for one to cut their own ear off, or to lose a limb, to have this be a part of him for long, how could he just leave it behind. It was for all intents and purposes, him. To move away from what he knew as his persona; he was at the edge or a precipice, below him a dark swirling pool that was the unknown if he decided to let go.

This struggle wasn't anything new for him though, all his life he had struggled to fashion a name for himself. Albeit, it was no longer an identity he wished to be recognized for, but there were parts of it that were harder for him to leave behind then others. The same could be said when he battled his smoking addiction, the relapses and the pain it had caused to his previous mates and friends. Finnick, the last guy anyone would suspect had been worried about him, in his own unique way, though he had pushed him to get himself fixed up, to stop. Even to this day, when his purple nose caught onto the fumes of a cigarette he had the desire to have on between his lips, to fill his lungs with the bitter, relaxing wisps of smoke. It would be the same road with opening himself up fully to his partner, there would be relapses, but as long as he had her by his side, to guide him through it….maybe, just maybe it wouldn't be as bad as he was dreading it to be.

The vulpine's eyes darted up to the ceiling of the dome, a small amount of the buildings stretched up far enough to almost meet it, dim lights shining through the windows that had their curtains drawn open. To his eyes, he could make out everything around them as though it was the clear of day in another district. The buildings that were further off into the distance were sketchy and a little fuzzy to make out, but not terribly so. Truth be told, he wasn't jealous of the other males that his partner would strike a conversation with, even the ones that would drag on for an hour or two. It was exactly the same for her when he was talking to other females, as was his nature he flirted a lot, mainly to be polite and because he knew that a compliment or two never hurt. If they got out of hand, they would as he had found out on more than one occasion, before he met Judy.

Sure if they made moves, or got overly flirty and tried touching her he would get annoyed, but there was nothing to get quite literally green-eyed over. He trusted her, and she trusted him…sometimes they'd be too friendly to those making advances on them, much to their annoyance. But the idea of cheating, fooling around behind one another's back, or to take breaks and see other animals left them feeling sick. They had talked about it when they were starting to get serious about what their intentions were to the other. It had started as side chatter, only to become a serious debate on their thoughts about such things.

His mind was starting to ponder into matters that were more distant than the last, till his thoughts were on the little suit wearing creep, Jack Savage. The nerve of that buck toothed rodent to bring up such suggestive and vile things that Judy and him could be doing if she left divorced him. Even thinking about it made his blood boil, hearing his voice and imagining that smug, confident look on his face when he placed his ghastly pale paws on her hips. The way he had tried to steal a kiss from her, in front of everyone at her family reunion, especially in front of him. The way his eyes followed her, undoubtedly undressing her in his mind, thinking of things that he was allowed to do with her. Everything he said, the way he acted around her and treated her like she was already his, it still made red flash before his eyes. When he had placed kiss on her muzzle, her lips, the lips that he kissed and licked.

By that point his self control and the resolve he had held that evening had fallen. It had taken all of Judy's brothers from the second litter and Gideon to hold him down. Her putting him into a hold and letting his face eat the dirt served the little bastard right, but if he had gotten his paws on him…..he would have hurt him, bad. One of the reasons for his nightmares was because his mind had been imagining tearing the little rabbit apart with his fangs and claws, for once in his life not regretting the idea of murdering another animal. If he showed up again in the future and tried pulling the same crap he had there, the formalities and the control he held over his more feral instincts would be off. No one touched his mate like that, no one treated her like she was property or a trophy, not even him. If Mr. Savage, the little secret agent looking prick ever tried something along these lines again in the future and he heard about it or was there…..then…he didn't know what he'd do. Only that it would involve his paws around the black and white bucks throat, wrangling some sense into that thick skull of his.

"Nicholas?" Judy's voice piercing through the tension that had settled around them for the last ten minutes as they walked. The silence had weighed heavily on both of them, more so the rabbit from her last comment and because her mind had been combing itself for a way to address this matter.

"Yes?" the red-furred fox murmured, his eyes trained ahead of them, glancing at the addresses on the doors.

"When…." she exhaled loudly, before looking away from his face, seeing as he wasn't looking at her.

"Judith, I know I'm not the easiest fox to get along with," the tod chuckled bitterly to himself, coming to a stop in front of the door that led to his mother's house. "But, I really am trying," his paw reached to her muzzle, burying his fingers in the soft grey fur.

"I know…." she pressed her face into his warm touch, closing her eyes for a brief moment, the tip of her nose twitching along with her wire thin whiskers. "But I was hoping that you'd be able to open up. Am I pushing you too hard?" her smaller paw settled over his larger one, holding it to her face, her eyes searching his beseechingly; shaking his head the predator kneeled down so he was eye level with her.

"Without you're encouragement, I wouldn't be here," his voice was filled with appreciation for his mate. "Out doing the same stuff with Finnick, or maybe pulling off my hustles somewhere else, living in the back of a van," the two of them chuckled, both of their minds imagining unique scenarios of that.

"You're avoiding the question, Mr. Wilde."

"I'm always avoiding them, they don't call me Slick Nick for nothing…." his eyes cast themselves to the corner, fixing themselves on a crack in the asphalt slab. "I don't exactly know…I do but It's hard to explain. It doesn't have anything to do with you though," he assured. "It'll get better in time, but this isn't going to happen overnight…I'm pretty messed up in here," he pointed to his temple with a claw. "I know we vowed, till death do us part and all that jazz, and you're one who refuses to break a commitment, but as you know my life isn't something that I'm proud of," she nodded in understanding, her eyes holding the same love they had in them the day they had gotten married, possibly even before then.

"I'm starting to understand why you're so cynical, if that's any help," she whispered.

"No, don't start doing that, Carrots. I know that there's a lot to be angry about right now, but this city doesn't need it's favorite rabbit officer turning on it," he smirked despite himself. "Zootopia is a good place, it really is. This is where we met, where we became friends, where we became partners, where we fell in love," he pressed his muzzle to the root of her muzzle, gifting it with a gentle kiss, "where we got married, where we mated for the first time, and it's where we're going to stay and start that family that we've always wanted," he lavished the same spot with another kiss, noticing and feeling that her fur was bristling from the attention, her ears perked up happily, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips, which were struggling to stay stoic.

"It feels like we don't do much, doesn't it? Like we've spent most of our time here than where we're post to be," she chuckled, taking her paw from his and placed it on his chest, somehow finding the place where his heart laid concealed.

"It does, it really does," he snickered, his eyes darting out to the road, as though someone was watching them, but in truth they were alone, most animals were asleep in the day in this district, despite that it was dark.

"Let's not keep your mom waiting," the rabbit pulled away, almost tripping her own two padless paws, but the fox caught her by the wrist, pulling her back to him, crushing their lips together for a few short moments of bliss.

"You mean, you. You're the one keeping us up with all this emotional stuff, Sweet Bun," he teased, standing up himself, keeping an arm around her so she didn't have a repeat of her almost-accident.

"I wasn't being emotional," she shook her head, her teeth slightly showing in the smile.

"And I'm Jason Batmen," he snorted, but was glad that they had shared their thoughts, or at least she shared her concerns with him closing himself off. Communication was the key to any relationship, something he had learned with previous ones, if not also reading up on it as well.

"I'm not familiar with him…is he a singer….an actor or just a name you pulled out of your hat?" Judy asked, after Nick had wrung the door bell, as they had come to the top step.

"An actor…..or producer up in MuzzlyWood," he shrugged his shoulders. "Doesn't matter, now have I ever told you that you have a gorgeous smile," he nuzzled the top of her head, exactly when the door opened, his mother's eyes widening a little as this was the first things she saw.

"Oh! Urmmmmm, hello Mrs. Wilde," Judy squeaked shyly, as her husband's muzzle was still pressed against the top of his head, mumbling in an undertone.

"Our timing seems to be cursed for these kind of things."

* * *

 **HI: What do you say guys, change it to A/N, or to MTY (Me To You), or maybe even Greetings! I'll let you decide that, but I'm pretty sure none of you are going to send me a PM or a review concerning that XD. But what do I know, I'm just Reverend Archangel, a writer keeping all of you fabulous folks entertained with this story, which we will be discussing in a few brief sentences below before I sign off for the night. So firstly, I'm sorry for the delay, fanfiction was down on my side of the internet, couldn't load documents, or save them, or anything for that matter. Also, I'm sorry to inform you, there will be no double chapter upload, I haven't even started Chapter XXIV, I've been taking a break and also suffering heavy writers block, it honestly sucks right now to be quite frank. So, here's something new that we're going to do.**

 **For every fifty reviews, follows, favorites in addition to every fifteen thousand views that this story receives, I'll let you guys decide what you want to see in an upcoming chapter, based on poll options that I will leave at the end of a chapter, and also on my Bio page. If you guys have ideas yourself that a lot of you have come to a consensus, send it in a review or a PM and I will post it up as well. I'm doing this because, well this story isn't just mine, it's also yours. As I've stated in the past, this story wouldn't be anything without you lot, and I'm sincerely thankful for every single one of you that is tagging along on this journey. So when will this start coming into effect you may ask? Well after chapter twenty-four, or five hundred reviews, six hundred favorites, or even eight hundred follows. Why these numbers, well it's just easier for me to start adding these numbers. If you disagree, send me ideas, and I'll start putting them up in these polls, which will change after the chapter with these ideas have been added to the story.**

 **Well, not what you guys were hoping for, not exactly straight onto the visit to Nick's mother. Next chapter we'll be getting there, what will be going on, who knows, but this is a two parter, because I wanted to explore more of Nocturnal District, simply because there hasn't been all that much on it yet, by the story writers of Zootopia, and us. Well, here's some info for all of you, after this chapter things will start to pick up in the second arc of Prejudice Dies Hard. More secrets about Nick's past will come to the surface, this missing Animals Case that I have brought up starts to become even more serious than it is, Judy starts digging into her husband's background to find out more about him, base on contents that will be popping up in the next chapter. There are chapters coming up that will contain action for these two officers, so I will be taking on the challenge of writing those exciting scenes. There will be a lemon coming up soon….trust me this won't take us away from the story or harm it, seriously folks I love your concern for this story but give me some more confidence builders out there. I'm not going to suddenly change this into a smut galore, those of you who PM me know me well enough to understand that, lol. What else, right, Nick and Judy will be struggling with the horrible forms and documents that are required for adoption, the rest of the ZPD set up more betting pools as they always do to pass the time and to make life interesting. We may or may not be heading back to BunnyBurrows, The Underground is in our future, been dropping hints here and there for stuff coming in to play for a while now, subtle though so keep your eyes peeled. Please don't do that literally, I'm not being responsible to explaining that to your friend and family, worse you're lawyers, XD. Either way, a lot coming up and the catalyst to the second arc starts in the next chapter, from there we will be jumping into a little more fast paced and officer stuff. Why, because this story needs some action thrown into it, time for me to go into the real stress and duties these two go through in the field.**

 **Well everyone that's about it from me, but before I sign off, I'd like to say something. I just want to say that I appreciate every single one of you that have left a review, followed, favorite the story or myself, and even viewed this story, also you guys who have sent me a PM. This story started off as a long shot at best, but in a few short months since this story was published it has gone far, because of the love you guys have for it. I am responsible for the story and the material within it along with your help, but you guys have truly made this story popular. I truly enjoy reading the new reviews that you guys leave, they make me smile and I truly appreciate the feedback some of you are leaving, it means a lot to me to see such devotion to see this story improve. I couldn't have done it without you and you're fondness to the movie Zootopia. That's all I wanted to say, this is Reverend Archangel, signing off, see you next week guys. Also enjoy the rest of the weekend and I hope you all had a great week, if not I hope it gets better. Also one again, I apologize for the wait, but more importantly my typing errors and mispellings, in the future updates I'll attempt to rid the chapters of most of them. Till next time R.A.**


	24. Nocturnal Distrit Part II

_**Chapter XXIV**_

 _ **Nocturnal District**_

 _ **Part II**_

After the initial awkwardness at the front door had come and gone, Nick's mother led them into the living room, only to insist that they take a seat while she went and prepared them some beverages and snacks. The officers had attempted to persuade the vixen that she didn't have to, but she had waved it aside, explaining that it would help break the ice, so to say. Which wasn't too far from the truth, if one was to consider that she had only apologized for the way she had acted at the hospital the previous night, through a phone call no less. This wasn't to suggest that it wasn't appreciated, just the way it had been delivered felt impersonal, then again she had always been a timid and very jumpy animal, which she more often than not hid it behind a calm and serious character; though as they had seen before, it came apart when she was put into unpredictable and stressful situations. Per se, it wouldn't be a far off statement to state that there the air was filled with tension.

With how things were, the tod could have just as easily held what she did against her; force her away from his life like he had his father, nevertheless his mother had never abandoned him. Though everything she had shouted about the union he shared with his mate had hit him harder than he had let on. To hear it being called things such as repulsive, even immoral, all of it had been hard to accept, it had been even worse later as the initial shock of it all had settled. The entire ordeal had infuriated him to no end, but with the benefit of hindsight he shouldn't have expected any less. Call it an excuse, but his mother had always been a bit old-fashioned, similar to his partner's.

The world hadn't always been the way his partner and him saw it, things had been much different when his grandparents were growing up. Interspecies was illegal just about everywhere at that point, when his mother was growing up it just started to become tolerated and allowed. On the other paw it wasn't exactly smiled upon by a vast majority of the population, seen as being a species taboo and even considered to be scandalous. His mother's views were her own, and he couldn't just pin all the blame on her since it was how she was raised, along with all the societal pressures at the time she was growing up. To put it in simpler words, there were a lot of outside forces that had assisted in creating her outlook.

Still, underneath it all she was still the vixen that had raised him, at least for a short while. The same vixen that had given birth to him and loved him, even after all the horrible decisions and choices he had made in his life. Now, she had a change of heart and was apologizing for what she had done, something that he had never once guessed would happen. The least he could do is to let go of his own bitterness and the irritation he had held toward her this last year. It to put it frankly it had become exhausting, quite a few nights he had laid in bed, eyes gazing off at the ceiling distantly, dreaming that things were back to the way they had been between them. Too many times he had allowed prior relationships to fall apart, having not said anything or even lifted a paw to stop things from acting out the way they had.

There was no one else to blame but himself, since he above all else, just turned his back on them, shutting out the world and everyone in it, no matter who it was…..or who it hurt. He had almost done that with Judy after the missing animal's case, but unlike everyone else she had come looking for him. Apologizing and admitting that she had been wrong, that there was no excuse for her to jump on assumptions. In regards to his mother, it was difficult to describe the bond they had, but there was one thing he knew, he didn't want her out of his life again. Growing up without a father was difficult, learning that he had left because of him…made it even harder, especially for his mother. What kind of husband divorced his wife just because she was bearing their child? Words could not describe the anguish he had felt when he had finally come the exact reality of it all, it felt as though he was being crushed by a torrent of conflicting emotions; grief, confusion, shame, humiliation, rage, dejection, rejection….even a minuscule sense of relief from finally being told. That day would always be burned into his mind, the day he had discovered that he wasn't ever wanted by his other parent…nothing less than a lapse of judgment….a mistake.

The tod…..the male that had been his mother's husband didn't deserve that title of respect and affection, he had left that all behind the day he broke his mother's heart. His mother, regardless of the multiple ups and downs they had shared was still the same vixen that loved him with all her heart. Who even despite it all was trying her best to accept his marriage, had apologized and was willing to at least tolerate it since he was happy. For that alone, he could forgive her to let the past lay where it was, to move forward instead of constantly reflecting back. They were here, spending time with his mother and hopefully they'd hear a full apology from her in the fur, or an explanation for her actions. He'd just be as content if they just sat there and talked, spent time as a family.

"Is the same house that you lived in when you were younger?" the fox was broken from his thoughts from the question.

"Uhhhh….Mind repeating me for that one, Whiskers?" he asked, not having caught what she said.

"No," she smiled, shuffling closer to him on the floral patterned cushioned couch. "I asked, if this is the same house you lived in when you were a cub?"

"Yep, this is same old same old Casa de Wilde," he chuckled amusedly, resting his arms on the back of the couch before stretching them out. As he glanced back down at his prey he was met with a confused stare, her head titled to one side, little pink nose twitching.

"What?"

"Just…..nothing."

"If it's nothing why are you staring at me like I'm covered in ticks?"

"It's just, well…" she let out a sigh, "Well why hasn't your mother moved? I couldn't imagine living here all by myself."

"Coming from the bunny who practically grew up in a castle…really how all of you lived in that house without getting lost is beyond me."

"Oh stop whining, you're only grumpy because you managed to get locked in a cupboard."

"Yeah, because there's no signs in that house…thought it was one of the bathrooms."

"Sure, sure. It wasn't just coincidence that you got lost and got locked into a broom cupboard. It had nothing to do with you hiding from the rest of my family, hmmm?" the doe poked him in the ribs tersely, getting him to squirm.

"Yep, you're two for two. Keep this up, and you'll be captain in no time."

The male ruffled the fur on the top of her head, making it stick up haphazardly, reminding him of the time he had put her into a hold, forcing her to his side so he could rub a balloon over her fur. The bruising had been worth it, plus he was able to get a photo of her as well, that had only ended with her on top of him, landing halfhearted punches to just about anywhere that she could reach.

"Har-Har…yehhh, Jerk," she nailed him in the side with an elbow, making him flinch a tad before he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, insuring that she couldn't get away.

"Got you," he growled playfully, bringing his paw to her stomach, his finger dancing across it lightly, causing her to squirm. "Now the dumb little bunny is going to get her punishment," he grinned evilly as he pressed on with a relentless attack, watching her struggle, trying her hardest not to burst into a fit of hysterical giggles.

"Ni…..Nick!" the shorter officer gasped, digging her hind-paws flat against the couch in attempt to break free. "St-stop! What if you…..you're m-mom sees!" she hissed, starting to trash wildly, but it was to no use. He was a lot stronger than her, being bigger had its advantages, though it was hardly fair since she was pinned.

"Then you might want to keep it down," he murmured as he nuzzled the stem of one of her elongated gray ears. "Wouldn't want you to die of embarressment," he grinned while he pressed his mauve nose against her pink one, brushing against it affectionately, but relented in his attack when she started to reciprocate it.

"I rea-really hate y-you someti-times!" she let out a heavy breath when she planted her head against his side.

"That's nothing new, I've heard it all before," he gave the top of her head a loving lick, getting her to grumble something incoherently against him. "I know, I know."

The predator consoled, as though addressing a child, patting her on the back to add to it, that was till his attention fell onto her perked up ears. Smirk fading away to a warm smile, he brought a padded paw up to the base of one them, stroking it with a kind touch. A noticeable shiver ran from the nape of her neck to the tip of her tail which twitched excitedly. He felt a pair of padless-paws press themselves into his side, his mate pushing herself away to stare at him with wide eyes. All he did was add some extra pressure and she melted into a purring mess of gray fur, her eyes shutting themselves as she pressed herself further into it, urging him to carry on. Happily he complied since he didn't want to disappoint his partner, however he couldn't stop himself as his eyes had focused on her twitching tail.

"You bunny's are weird," the vulpine stated with a clear hum in his voice. The only reply he received were the few leisurely given nods, that and her sitting up a little, to which he purred, "There's the, Carrots that I know and love." It was something that had surprised him when he found out, but rabbit's ears were erogenous spots, something he exploited when they were alone and at home normally. But some ear affection here and there wouldn't hurt now and then….he hoped at least.

A minute or two of this went on, as they still waited for his mother to return from the kitchen, but he kept an ear trained in that direction. It wouldn't do if she came back and found what they were doing, as it wasn't entirely appropriate outside the bedroom, considering that his mate's fluffy tail was twitching rather happily; which was an evident sign of arousal amongst her kind. Seeing as he was getting close to pushing his luck, he ran his paw up her ear one last time before he trailed it down to the underside of her muzzle, scratching her chin instead.

"Nicholas?" the lapin breathed, blinking the haziness from her eyes.

"Yeah, Judith?"

"You're such a darn tease!" she accused with a smile, making him chuckle.

"Not as much as you…" he stroked the side of her muzzle with a thumb, landing a soft kiss on her lips, his tone becoming serious as he asked. "How are you feeling?"

"I-it's getting difficult," she breathed, cheeks darkening ever so slightly.

"Sorry…" he knew that she was feeling uncomfortable of late, and there was only one way to address it. "We….we can rent a room for a night or two tomorrow…..if you want to," he trailed off, finding this topic uncomfortable to talk about, where his mother could so easily hear them.

"I'll be fine by next week," the doe looked away, fidgeting uneasily from the talk, also to keep herself from touching him too much, or she'd find it hard to stop.

"Alright, just tell me if you change your mind," he rubbed the upper portion of her left arm, then added with a impish grin. "Or you could, you know, give me some advanced warning."

"Shut up!" the female officer groaned disconcertedly, burying her face into her paws from embarressment, her ears covering the sides of her muzzle so he couldn't see her.

"You bunnies," he chortled, running his padded digits over her neck, claws grazing over the hidden skin with care. "Come on, when did you start getting so bashful and shy, hmmm?" he teased the doe. "Where's that bunny that used to throw back devious remarks."

"Back home in bed," she rolled her eyes with mild irritation. "What if you're mother hears us?" she demanded, sitting up straight after pushing his paw away.

"Where do you think I got it from?"

"I would have guessed Finnick, or Fox….maybe even one of your other mates."

"Nope, got most of this from my mother," there was mirth in his voice, till he finally confessed. "Not really, if she heard half the things that come out of my mouth and I'm sure she'd wash my mouth out with soap."

"And here I thought you were a fairly articulate fellow," her paw clenched into a small fist, but refrained from socking him playfully, remembering that he was pretty bruised up from there last arrest.

"Whatever you're thinking, stop thinking it!" he warned, noticing the fist in his peripheral.

"Me? I'm not doing anything!" she rocked back and forth where she was sitting, making a horrible mess of acting casual.

"Uhhh huh, and I'm definitely not a vicious predator," the tod shot back, his emeralds coming rise and fall skeptically, after which they sat there for a few moments, things calming down from their bantering.

"How-how's your ankle?" the rabbit inquired after a moment or two had gone by without a sound.

"Still sore," he stretched out his left leg, rolling the hind-paw sluggishly as he grimaced. "Think I might have tweaked the achilles. Don't think that panther appreciated me putting him into a hold," he grumbled, remembering the larger predator grabbing him by the leg and throwing him against the side of their cruiser. "Neck's pretty stiff too," he rolled his head, not able to get it to pop from the stiffness, it was exceptionally painful to look over his left shoulder, or turn in that direction in general. "How about yourself, he got you pretty well back there?"

"I'm fine, my arm hurts a little though," her right arm had been bothering her since, being kicked in the arm only to be sent skidding across an unforgiving sidewalk did that.

"Oh the joys of being the token animals in ZPD history…go figure that we're closer to a pissed off cat!" he huffed, laying his head back against the head of the couch.

"Hmmmm, tell me about it. When you were at the academy, I was either partnered up with Wolford or Grizzoli. I don't know what it is with those two but their always getting themselves tangled up in some kind of mess. One night we took a call for a break in, only to find that we got in the middle of a antelope trying to murder a…" the lapin stopped herself, looking up to see that her partner's eyes were closed, possibly due to a lack of interest.

"So what happened?" the vulpine asked, bringing his head up a crumb of an inch, wondering why she had stopped.

"I'm not boring you?"

"Wha-No!" his voice was surprised, where on earth did she get that concept. "I was just resting my eyes, I couldn't sleep that well last night."

"Couch's aren't meant to be slept on, Dumb Fox."

"Then why are there such things as couches with pull out beds?"

"Couch-bed, you take the cushions off, pull the bed out, couch-bed, the bed's sort of implied."

"Well you got me there…So an antelope was trying to murder a badger, ehh?"

"Yeah, it was a weird night. Gizzoli just stepped in between them and grabbed onto their wrists, separating them before he took them to the cruiser. We had to wait till some back up came, so we could keep them away from each other. Apparently, they were friends till one of them started stealing the other's money."

"Huh, reminds me of a time with Finnick…..Seriously don't miscount the money you're giving him. I literally handed him five dollars short and he flipped out, it was by accident, I miscounted," he let out a sigh, shaking his head as he thought about his friend.

"I still can't see you two being friends," the rabbit threw in, never having liked Finnick as she thought that he was a bad influence on her partner.

Every time those two got together his character would change, quite a few times she had caught him helping the fennec fox in his scandals, but the last time had been a few years ago. The threat of notifying the chief was still there, she hadn't been joking when she had told him that she'd do it the next time slipped up. Luckily she had discovered this early on, but it had upset her to find out. He was fresh and new at the station, and had gone back to his old field of _work_ , if it could even be called that. There were excuses, false promises made and broken, tears, anger and a lot fo arguing between them, but eventually the threat of having him jailed was enough, especially when she had her paw on her radio, ready to call it in. That had settled it and he hadn't gone back, amusingly he had promised to her in their wedding vows that he wouldn't revert again, wouldn't disappoint her again.

The prey had to shake herself from these thoughts as she came to the realization that her mate was telling her something about his past with the fennec fox.

"…..seriously, he whacked me up the head with a pipe he found in the alleyway. Who does that? I only missed five dollars, it might have been three, I can't remember because…well I just took a blunt instrument to the head. Trust me that little sucker's go a of strength in those cub arms of his," the fox was grinning as he recounted the incident, but noticed that his wife appeared to be confused.

"You didn't call the cops, or fought back?"

"When you're suffering from a mild concussion, the last thing you want to do is get up and do anything. I just let him take the money out of my wallet, and I told him I was sorry."

"What happened after that."

"Well, he didn't bust my teeth in, like you'd expect he would…He said he was sorry for hurting me and that he thought I was pinching off of him. We…well Finnick's always been a mystery, but we got along better after that, if you except all his death threats."

"You kept working with him, even though he assaulted you?"

"Ther-there's definitely a greater deal than just him having a short fuse, and me just shrugging it off."

"Must be!" she exclaimed in an undertone, shaking her head doubtfully. It was possible that this was just another story, nothing other than her husband exaggerating like he had on some accounts, albeit there was usually a lot of truth behind his yarns.

"You're right, there isn't. Really, we just worked together, but after a while we just became…..well friendly associates would be the best way to describe it," he snorted. "If you consider all the times he threatened to skin me alive when I messed with him."

"How's he been?" the rabbit grumbled, not really wanting to know, but the smaller predator meant something to her partner.

"Fine, he's a landlord of an apartment building in Sahara. It's not easy, but he says it's a lot better than wearing an elephant suit for a cub. I know we don't want to move back into an apartment anytime soon, but he's offered us one of the rooms if we can't find a place."

"Th-that's surprisingly kind of him," she mumbled, not wanting to admit that beneath the attitude and the grumpiness, that the ex-hustler wasn't as bad as she thought he was.

"That's what I said….that earned some interesting replies from him…" the tod let out a groan as his phone started to vibrate furiously against his leg, indicating that someone was trying to reach him. Fishing it out of his pocket only caused him to mutter a curse underneath his breath, before standing up. "Wonder what Chief Buffalo Butt want?" he mumbled to himself before he rounded his attention on his mate whose ears were perked up, a look of anticipation in her eyes. "Mustn't be too important since he's not calling you….or anyone else from the station. I'm going to take this up to my room, just sit tight and relax, Carrots."

The fox officer clarified before he walked out into entrance corridor, heading up a flight of stairs. The rabbit's ears twitched as they heard the door open and immediately close, leaving her alone in the dining room. Not wanting to just sit about and do nothing, she decided to explore a little, seeing as the alternative was just messing around on her phone. Besides, this was the perfect time to learn about her partner's past, perhaps even learn something or two about his past…or even just to understand why the subject about his father was so closed off, why he was so closed off. Kicking herself off the comfortable three cushioned sofa, she started to make her way around the living room, her amethyst eyes roaming from odds and ends to framed pictures.

There was one picture that grabbed her attention, and with wary paws she took it from its place on the book self. Her head rolled to the side ever so slightly, her elfin pink nose twitching as she came to recognize who was in the image. A smile tore at the corners of her muzzle, and she had to stop herself from letting out a light hearted _aww_. She'd recognize those green eyes anywhere, even if he was what appeared to be eight maybe ten years old. The only word that came to mind to describe him as a cub was adorable, except that almost seemed to not be enough. It wasn't as if she hadn't ever seen photos of him when he was young, on the contrary when she had first met his mother she had shown him some a few pictures, as all parents seemed to do. Something which had actually gotten an unusual response out of him. It was often that she was able to see this emotion, but it was always worth to have a camera around when he was actually embarrassed, the way his ears would lower themselves back, the way his tail would curl itself around his front like a security blanket. Then there was just the look on his face which clearly showed that he wanted to be invisible, eyes normally glued to the floor.

This was almost worth taking a picture of, if only to mess with him later on…..but there was one thing that stopped her. In the image he was wearing a green, maybe brown uniform, she couldn't actually tell since the lighting of the room was dim, since her mother in law and husband's eyes were sensitive to light, but that made things difficult for her to depict things out. But she had seen this uniform on other children in Zootopia, even in Bunnyburrow they had Junior Ranger Scouts. This must have been taken the same night or maybe even a day prior to when he had been molested by those other kids, the ones he had thought were his friends. Thinking better of her original intention she instead just held the frame in her paws, thumb tracing over the dull brass metal fondly. So this was the jovial and positive Nick, one that she had thought never existed, even when he had told her it had. It was easier to believe when there was evident proof in front of her, and not from the wistful tone that her partner so often used when reflecting on his past.

"Oh Nicholas…what did the world do to you?" she sighed, taking a few steps back from the book shelve. "Who'd want to hurt such a cute little guy like you, huh? You don't look dangerous," she hummed, tracing her thumb over where his cheek was in the image. "You don't smile like that much anymore, I wish you did…"

"So do I," a voice suddenly broke her from her thoughts, causing her to nearly jump out of her fur while she let out a high squeak of fright, but she held the picture to her breast so she didn't drop it.

"Ohh….Mrs. Wilde…..I-I-I didn't hear yo-you come in," the doe stuttered, her chest heaving heavily, her heart thumping against her chest madly.

"It's alright, I shouldn't have snuck up on you…I sometimes forget that prey are….well easy around predators," the vixen sighed, scratching at her arm bashfully, not having meant to scare her.

"No it's not that…..I just….sorry I shouldn't have been snooping. Here," she offered the picture back to the vixen, as it was hers.

"Thank you," she took the frame gently, looking at it closely, before she smiled, her old blue eyes looking over her son when he was a cub. "He definitely was happier when he was younger," she sat padded over to one of the couches before slumping into it, eyes fixated on the frame for a few moments before looking back to the rabbit.

"Where's Nick?"

"He's taking a call, he'll be back in a bit," the doe dug a hind-paw into the fuzzy carpet uncomfortably, keeping her eyes from looking into the vixens. She felt like a kitten who had got caught with their paw in the sugar-coated carrot jar.

"Well, that gives us ladies some time to ourselves," there was a smile in the fox's voice. "Please sit down, I won't bite," she patted the cushion adjacent to the one she was sitting on.

"Okay," the officer nodded before coming over to sit next to the older female, who was wearing a blue shirt and a pair of cobalt colored jeans, appearing to very content with just the two of them. The prey felt a little uneasy this close to her, but she managed to get out.

"Sorry for looking through your things, Mrs. Wilde….it's a force of habit," this was somewhat true, since they were officer they were trained to look closely at just about anything at crime scenes or in any other sort of case.

"Don't worry so much about it, I don't mind," she brushed it aside, offering a warmhearted smile down at her. "You can always call me Vivienne, I won't be offended," she offered.

"I-alright…if that's what you want me to do," the doe drummed her fingers against her thigh, not knowing what to exactly talk about with the older animal. Thankfully she didn't have to think of a topic to strike up as the predator stated faintly.

"This might not mean much, but I want to say that I am sorry for all the things that I said about your relationship with my son…." the officer watched as the mother's eyes fell to her paws which she fiddled with uncomfortably, struggling to find the words. "I-it wasn't my place to judge…..and I'll understand if either of you resent me for it, but I just want you to know that I'm sorry fo-for everything," she shook her head before looking off at one of the book shelves, pointed ears lowering back.

The younger mammal forced her eyes from staring at the back of her mother in law's head, instead her eyes landed on the floor between where she was sitting and the coffee table. Her mind was processing the sudden change in the room, the semi-relaxed atmosphere had dissipated into one of awkwardness. This was a topic she had been expecting to be brought up when they would all be in the same room, but there was a chance that there was another reason for it. Though, it was currently escaping her, since she was racking her thoughts to shape a reply, only for everything to halt, as she asked herself a question, one that stood out from the others. Could she accept the apology, it wasn't something she had thought about too much, having put the ordeal at the hospital behind her like her husband had done.

Her gaze shifted to the vixen who was still looking away, her tail having come to rest in her lap, hugging her waist. It was something she had become so accustomed to seeing with her partner, a bodily reaction when he was shutting everything out, closing himself off. Darting her attention away again, the doe's muzzle slightly scrunched up as she thought about how she felt so she could come up with an answer, either to forgive or to carry resentment for the older mammal. There would be just cause to hold this against her, but that was the easier road, it was always easier to hate, to have something to gnash their teeth about. It was much more difficult to forgive, to put aside the reflections of another's mistake, to let them make up for their wrongs. With this circumstance it was challenging for her to come up with an answer for how she felt, because she didn't know. By that, how could she come to a decision on what direction she should take with this.

What Vivienne had said and done back when Nick was injured was wrong, she had admitted that to them, taking responsibility for it, willing to take whatever response they had for her. True, it would be enough to make any child resent their parents, to break a great deal of the delicate and strong bonds that a family shared. The vixen deserved it, her words had hit her son much harder than she must have expected, because there had been evident yet minute changes with him. He had started to fall into his thoughts a lot more frequently and brood, closing himself off a bit too often as well, to the point that it had brought up arguments between them over matters that weren't even related to it at times. His mood around her family when they had visited them had definitely a chief example to how noticeable it had become, as he had at first, just kept his distance from them. However he conversed with them, answered questions that they had for him kindly, but there was no interest on his part to get to know them, just seeing them as her family, not their family. Things had changed and he had become attached to them, even if he refused to admit it.

The prey glanced back over to the predator once again who was noticeably fidgeting with her paws, still avoiding to look at her. Not wishing to add to the older female's discomfort, she tore her gaze to the coffee table, the drinks and snacks having laid untouched. Her thoughts soon drifted back to the matter at paw, reflecting on everything that had occurred these last few weeks and months in regards to the union between her partner and her. The city itself was recoiling about the news as were many others, mainly because the couples in these relationships didn't usually come out and declare it, there's hadn't been either since her siblings had callously done it for them. The news of the ZPD's only fox and rabbit officers being more than just co-workers and friends had spread worse than a wildfire. She had easily forgiven them on account to her mate reasoning with her, that it would happen eventually, with or without their exact permission. All the same, with what had been going on as of late, to have support from their friends and family was welcomed. If Nick's mother was willing to apologize and admit she had been wrong, then there was no reason for bad blood to exist between them. There may have been in the beginning, but with everything that had come up this year, there really hadn't been anytime to dwell on it.

Then there was the fact that a short way further down the road, the two of them would be starting their own family. It didn't matter if their children were adopted, they still deserved to know about the rest of their surrogate family. That was further down the road, but it was something that the doe put into consideration, even if they didn't get along with their parents in the future, it didn't mean that their kids shouldn't get to know them, to pay them visits. This was still a ways down the road, or it might even be this following year knowing them, things seemed to occur quite spontaneously for them.

At the end of it all, there was admittedly a greater deal to consider with their folks then just what they wanted, they might all as well apologize for what they did and do better in the future, it was all any of them could do in the end. Life was too short and unexpected for grudges to be held, over such minor things….if them keeping their marriage secret was little, or that they hadn't invited any of their family was as well. This was something that had hurt both of their families, seeing as they wanted to be there for that important day. One of the reasons that her folks still weren't all that accepting of her partner being a son in law, also his background hadn't exactly helped. Though her parent's had come to see that he wasn't as bad as they had thought, but neither of them could hide their disappointment, mainly because of the lack of trust on her part.

Nonetheless she had kept it from them because she was apprehensive of their reactions, but who could blame her. They had only come around to having Gideon as a business partner a few years ago, after they had preached for so long about how predators were dangerous, and how loathsome foxes were. For them to find out that she was engaged to one, whom happened to be one of the greatest examples of the stereotypical prejudices that society held against his kind. Though he had changed, her family were relatively contemptuous about the whole, an animal can change. For a greater deal of her life she was as well, never could she have suspected Nick to have changed the way he did. Sure he had assisted her on her first case, became an officer to be her partner, then her closest friend, but she had never imagined that he would be able to put his old ways behind him. He hadn't at first, but after the reprimands he had never gone back, never messed up again. If her husband could change his life around, her parents sway in their stances and her with her own prejudices against predators, then she was willing to give her mother in law that chance.

The lapin ever so lightly nodded her head to herself as she came to her verdict, knowing in her heart that it was the right choice, or so she hoped. She had her fair share of stumbles, but that had never stopped her either, for the most part. Having come to her decision in the small lapse of time since the vixen had spoken, she cleared her throat to get the other animal's attention, plus to get the unexpected dryness out of her mouth.

"Mrs. Wilde," the officer started off, her amethysts meeting light sapphires. "I can understand why you said the things you did. My parent's reactions weren't too far from your own," she closed her eyes before letting out a sigh. "What Nick and I are….it-it's not accepted, we're a part of a very insignificant percentage of animal minorities," she grumbled out, recalling unpleasant things that some animals had muttered about them when they were at the movies last. "I can't say that I was thrilled about what you said to us, but I-I'm willing to give you another chance. I don't resent you…..I don't think Nick does either, but it's hard to tell what's going on in that head of his," the doe smiled as this got a chuckle from the vixen.

"Judy….thank you," the vixen let out a sigh of relief, before looking seriously at the rabbit. "I want you to understand that….I acted the way I did because I was more afraid for my son."

"What did you have to be afraid of…I'm half his size, I think I should be the one afraid," she laughed nervously, the look the fox was giving her was unnerving, eyes staring into hers sternly as though addressing a child…..which she was in a way, since she was her daughter in law.

"I can understand that, it's only natural for prey to be afraid of predators," she raised her paws up before dropping them to her lap. "Look at us, sharp claws and pointed fangs, naturally built for…well hunting. But I was worried about you hurting him emotionally, " the look that the rabbit gave her urged her to explain. "Nick has told you about his prior mates, has he not?" the answer was given in reluctant nod, the rabbit's lips being drawn into a tight line of displeasure, as her husband still avoided about talking about such things with her.

"Doesn't talk to you much about these things, does he?" Vivienne spoke with a motherly voice as she placed a paw on the younger females paw, giving it a consoling squeeze.

"No! He barely talks to me about himself at all," the rabbit scoffed incredulously. "Sorry…it's just been so frustrating with him, it's like he doesn't trust me."

"I know, he's the same with me," the mother rolled her eyes. "It started when….."

"With the Junior Ranger Scouts?"

"Yes, the night changed him into the tod he is today," she breathed. "He was grumpier after getting back from school, his attitude towards everything was depressing to hear at times…it was like I was dealing with a teenager," she backtracked them to what they had been previously talking about. "His previous relationships didn't end that well for him…I wasn't in his life for a few of them, but the others, he'd call me or text me, each time he blamed himself. There were a lot of things that he did to push them away, but it wasn't always his fault. But back at the hospital….I was just worried that you two jumped into things too quickly. Knowing someone for two years then getting married isn't unheard of, but…."

"They never last that long," the doe finished for her, the vixen voicing her agreement with a calm hum. "I know, a few of my brothers and sisters…a few cousins as well have done the same….a few of them didn't work out. But rabbits are tad bit more stubborn then we're given credit for. If things don't work, we usually try to figure a way out to make them work, even when it's best to just let things be," there was a smile in her voice, remembering times when she was working with her brothers and her father on the farm, all the troubles they had run into. He could be quite the mulish buck when it came down to trying to make things work, even when they wouldn't.

"I hope you don't think I'm prying or judging your two's relationship. Just expressing my concern," the fox elaborated.

"Not at all, I sometimes feel like we rushed things, but it never felt rushed," she looked at her mother in law, with a genuine smile. "It felt natural, but it does feel odd to look back on it, things just happened so fast it seems. We were already friends before he left for the academy. When he was assigned to be my partner because I requested it, then we became close friends. He was living with me, and things just went from there."

"Before we had our fight at the hospital we were talking to each other regularly, if I asked how he was doing he'd also include you. He'd usually go off for a while about what you two had been doing. Even before you two were married, he had a lot of admiration for you as a friend, for the work you did," there was a smile on the fox's muzzle that reminded the rabbit of her husband's mischievous smirk. "I did have my suspicions that you two were closer, but I always brushed them aside, as I had asked and he always just told me that you were close friends."

"It's hard to get him to keep his muzzle shut once you get him started," the officer said with a fond tone in her voice.

"He's always been a talker, especially on subjects he's passionate about," there was a small twinkle in the blue hues of the older female's eyes, one that the younger didn't catch. "I don't know if this means much, but he's never talked about anyone like he has with you."

"It does actually, thank you," there was a brief feeling of weightlessness for a moment, her heart fluttering in her chest as though she had swallowed a butterfly.

"Your welcome," Vivienne leaned forward, taking a hold of a glass in her paw, only to offer it to the doe. "I got some stuff from the store earlier for you two….I-I don't know what kind of things prey eat…so I hope that this doesn't seem trite, but I got some carrot juice for you," the doe took the drink appreciatively, nonetheless it did seem a tiny bit stereotypical for another animal to do. One animal in particular never seemed to care, was her husband who always playfully teased her about such things.

A short while went by, the two taking sips at their drinks while they conversed about other matters, such as what they had been up to of late; along with the weather which always seemed to be brought up in side chatter. The conversation started to wither after they brought up the latest events, which happened to lead them to the topic of the Anti-Interspecies Party, as they had come to be called. This steered them into discussing their views on the group, which had brought them to the incident their apartment had befallen. It wasn't a topic that her husband or her were too eager to talk about as it was still a pretty fresh wound, one that they didn't like being pressed on. When their friends in addition to their fellow co-workers had asked, they had varying reactions; she'd normally ask if they'd not inquire into it, while her partner normally gave a sarcastic remark about animals not sticking their noses in other's matters.

This had gotten him called to the chief's office a number of times so far, where he was lectured about how his attitude wasn't appreciated around the station. They had every right to feel the way they did, but not to take it out on those who were concerned for them, especially her partner. He had been improving as of late, returning to what they were all accustomed to expecting of the fox, as he had gotten time to lick his wounds, coming to terms with the situation along with gaining a clearer head.

Yet on the other paw that hadn't stopped a copious amount of reporters as well as journalists to pester them about it. Unfortunately, her predator hadn't been that polite with them, having had enough of animal's analyzing and being overly inquisitive of their life. Getting into the station some mornings had been a challenge as they'd be engulfed in a horde of heavily armed animals, pointed to the teeth from paw or hoof-held recorders to I-Paws. The latest headlines about them, revolved around how Zootopia's fox officer couldn't handle being under pressure, as he had snapped at a reporter inquiring about their home being vandalized, also if he had any suspicions that it was an animal he had wronged in the past. The only other time they had provoked a rude response from him was when they had been questioning about their sex life, going on how they made things work, despite the size differences along with being different species. The way he had retorted to it had been less then pleasant, even having made her flinch, but she couldn't hold it against him.

Thinking about the events of the last couple of weeks was enough to make her head throb in exasperation. Taking her mind off of such issues, the doe decided that it was time for the lull in their conversation to come to an end. There were some things that she needed some answers to, and she'd be darned if her husband would give it to her straight or at all.

"Vivienne?" the doe piped up warily, not wanting to over tread where she didn't belong.

"Mmmmhmmmm?" the vixen acknowledged kindly, glancing over to the prey, waiting patiently for the upcoming question.

"This has always been a…sensitive issue with Nicholas, but I was wondering-well I was thinking…uhhhhh," she trailed off, her eyes becoming fixated on the dull orange liquid that filled up three-fourths of her glass. "I was wondering if…you could tell me about….Nick's father," there was a flash of searing-white fury in the older female's eyes, only to fade away as quickly as it came, leaving the officer to wonder if it had even been there. Instead, there was a look of deep longing, yet it was barely discernible from the overwhelming grief, almost heartbreaking to witness.

"I-I didn't mean to upset you…..I shouldn't have asked."

"That's quite alright, dear," the red-furred mammal let out a sigh, her eyes blinking a few times to clear themselves of moisture. "There's not much to tell you about him…well there's a lot but I doubt it'll interest you," she offered a smile that was closer to the lines of being a grimace. "He….he was a handsome tod, Nicholas and him have so much in common really. His father was just stockier, a little taller, also more muscular then him. They have the same eyes, I used to think that Nicky would grow up to look just like him, but he shares his looks with my grandfather…Sorry I'm getting off topic…Ummmmm, what would you like to know about him?" she relented, her heart not really into it.

"What was his name?" Judy inquired, a name would give her something to work with.

"John…" she sighed the name wistfully, her eyes starting to brim with tears again, but she was better composed than the doe would ever be, keeping them back. "Jonathan Evanidus Wilde."

"I always thought his middle name was Piberius," Judy admitted, but this was the first time she had ever heard his name, as her partner always referred him as his father or less pleasant tittles.

"No, Piberius comes from my uncle, he asked if Nicky could have his first name as his middle, he was very ill at the time so he thought he wouldn't get the chance to see him, but he thankfully recovered and got to meet him. The two are very close," she explained cheerfully.

"I've heard a lot about him, but Nick's never mentioned his name," the smaller mammal smiled as well, finally getting some clear answers. "What was John like?" she added.

"Had great business sense, I'd have to guess one of the best in Zootopia. Confident in the decisions he made, wasn't one to raise his voice when he was upset or to argue with another animal, he always tried to reason situations out," she chuckled to herself in amusement, a grin twitching at her lips, adding as an afterthought. "Getting into an argument with him was more frustrating then what started them…he'd always have this almost unnoticeable smirk on his muzzle afterwards, he hated it when we were fighting."

"What else can you tell me about him?"

"Forgive me, there's some things that have become obscure over the years," she pinched the spot where her nose met the fur of her muzzle, eyes closed tightly as she thought. "I….I can remember him being able to persuade just about anyone he came by into a deal, had a way with words. He was a very gentle tod, loved reading….it was always a struggle to get him away from his books," she laughed genially, in the muzzle of the fact that they had a divorce.

"I don't mean to interrupt but what was his profession?" the rabbit threw in, wanting to know as much as she could about the fox.

"Business…oh you mean where he worked. Well he doesn't work for anyone, he owns his own company, Suit-topia. I don't know if you know, but it's a broadly known tailoring industry here, it's also been expanding rather widely these last ten years into other cities across the nation. Last I heard he's still here in Zootopia, managing everything from where he started it."

"What else can you tell me about him?" this would be enough for her to go off of at a later time, for now her curiosity demanded that she find out as much as she could about the tod.

"He was a great dancer but never liked to boast about it, was very patient with everyone…..but he hated to be interrupted or talked over, or for animals to try and guess what he was going to say. Was willing to give everyone a number of chances before he gave up, was honest when he wasn't working. When he worked he was ruthless, all business, did whatever it took to get on top of his competitors in an upright way," she rolled her eyes when she added. "When it came to it though he was always at a loss for words when unexpected things came up….could even act brashly," her tone had shifted to a downtrodden one, recalling how this had led to their divorce.

"Ultimately that was the reason he left…when he learned that I was pregnant with Nicky, he packed up and left. He told me he couldn't handle it…the last day I saw him was when the divorce papers were all sorted out…the last thing he said to me is that he loved me, that he'd miss me."

"I'm sorry, that must have been hard for you," the younger mammal tried to comfort, laying a paw atop one of her gloveless ones, coming to realize why her partner was so bitter about his father.

"It was…..I just wished that he stayed…..maybe Nicholas wouldn't have gotten himself into the things he did if he stayed," Mrs. Wilde breathed wistfully, her eyes staring off into her own drink, watered down cranberry juice.

"Things certainly would be different…but look at what Nick's done without him….what's he accomplished by himself." the lepus murmured in agreement, somewhat thankful that things had played out the way they did. If they hadn't she might not have the amazing partner and mate that she did now, she wouldn't trade anything for him.

"What about all the mistakes he's made...him leaving home at the age of twelve. So much went wrong after that night, then when he got expelled from school. When we couldn't get him into any others in Zootopia, he ran away. If I had done better as a parent….tried to…..I don't know, there's a lot I could have done."

"He doesn't see his choices as mistakes," the rabbit grinned, having discussed this before with him. "Everything that happened to him…everything he did, it's what made him into the fox he is today," Vivienne's eyes focused on her daughter in law with a thoughtful expression. "Trust me I know how frustrating he is, but despite everything he's been through, he's still a great…..inimitable fellow. I wouldn't want any other animal having my back out there, there's no one else I want to spend my life with," Judy patted the elderly female's paw, explain to her what she thought. "You did good with him….even though he may have run away, only to become a con-artist. Not to mention he was a real thorn when I met him. I never thought that he'd be able to change, to be who he is now. I think that he's great, it wasn't your fault what happened to him."

"I'm very proud of him. Zootopia's first fox officer, he's made his entire family proud. I just…I wish that he could have had a normal childhood, instead of being out on the streets, scarping to get by every day, not knowing where he was going to sleep. There's a lot of things that I wish I could have done differently in my life, but I never regretted having him," her nostrils flared slightly as she heaved a sigh through them, before a smile crept back across her visage, meeting her eyes, before expressing.

"I've been following the news about you two, but I don't pay them any mind really."

"Oh…..ummm, thanks," what else could the rabbit say to this.

"I didn't mean it like that…it's just seeing you together, how comfortable you two are around each other, the way you look at each. When you were on the step when I opened the door, I've never seen him act that way his mate's….well the ones that he's introduced to me," she pressed the padded side of her paw to her forehead, shaking her head as she laughed. "What I am trying to say, Judy is that I am happy for you two and I sincerely hope that you enjoy the rest of your lives together," she took one of the prey's paws in both of hers, giving it a tender squeeze. "This sounds cliché, but I'm glad that you two bumped into each other. It definitely was for the best, you've changed his life for the better."

"I appreciate it, Vivienne. I don't reckon I would have lasted all that long here without him. He's one of my closest friends here, the best anyone could ask for…..one of the finest officers that I have had the pleasure to work alongside with. It's funny, he's not given that much credit for the Night Howlers case, but I wouldn't have been able to solve it without him, or even be here right now."

"He's always had a nose for getting himself involved in matters that don't concern him…" the vixen paused as she looked at the time, eyes darting to the grandfather clock. "Speaking of which, he's been on the phone for a while now, hope that everything is alright."

"I-I'll go check on him….." the officer pushed herself off the couch, feeling a slight tingle of pain from pins and needles dancing across her hind-paws.

"Alright, I'll wait for you two here," the other mammal nodded before she rubbed her muzzle in exasperation, causing the doe to come to a stop underneath the archway of the living room. Gray ears raised in curiosity as she waited to see if there was something else to be said. "Before this old head of mine forgets, could you tell Nick that his old room is yours if you want to spend the night. Also make yourself at home while you're here, just don't go into my room, it's the second one on the right after you come up the stairs."

"I'll be sure to let him know, also don't worry, I may be a cop but I'm not going to snoop around."

The officer reassured with a smile with an abrupt nod, all before she turned on her heels, making her way out of the lounge. Having come back out into the main corridor, she headed right, heading up the short flight of steps to the second floor. To only come to the sudden realization that she didn't know which room her husband had headed into earlier. It appeared it would have to be a hit and miss, since her ears weren't catching any sign of sound from any of them. Without any hint she chose to open the first door on the left, only to discover that her guess was correct. Across the room with his back facing her was her partner, slouching over a bit, his muzzle pointing to the window. There wasn't much else that she could distinguish from the angle he was at, but so far there weren't any signs that he was upset.

"Knock, knock?" she chirped subtly, rasping her knuckles against the wooden frame. This distracted the red furred male form whatever he had been focusing on, turning his head to look over his shoulder, a single emerald staring into her amethyst.

"Hey…didn't hear you come in," the fox chuckled, eyes falling to her knees before they came back up to her muzzle. "Care to join me," he patted the space next to him, noticing that she had her back against a corner of a frame, arms crossed as she watched him with a small smile, shutting the door with a hind-paw.

"I'm not sure, officer," her voice having become wary. "My parent's always told me not to be alone in the same room as a predator, especially foxes," her apprehensive expression came undone as she took him all in. "Even if they were as good-looking as yourself."

"Sure you're in the right professions, Sweet Bun. I gotta say, you're theatrical skills have a lot of potential."

The ends of his lips turned up into a warm grin, opposed to what she was directing his way. A paw was resting lazily on a propped up hip, long gray tears rolling down the back of her head idly, amethyst eyes half open with a grin that sparked his more primal instincts to life. There was lust in her eyes, it was something he couldn't deny himself, since he had been struggling with the same unbearable feelings of hunger for his mate. Why did does have to be in a constant state of heat throughout the year? It was something he never understood about them, namely because most mammals would fall into it during spring, or late summer, or even in the winter like his kind. But rabbits, for one reason or another that he couldn't comprehend, they were always in a state of heat…or it was in the moment.

"You've said," before she murmured, pushing herself away from the door, coming to sit beside him, both of them staring out of the window, both seeing very perceiving two very different worlds. "Being a police officer is more fun."

"Right, I almost forgot that you're crazy…..you'd have to if you're going to be partnered to a fox," out of the peripheral of his vision he noticed her giving him the same look from earlier. "Going to tell me why you're staring, Fluff? I already understand that I'm gorgeous, but I think a picture would suffice here."

"I'm gonna conclude that you already know why," the look she was giving him had become a little too friendly, her paw only coming to support this as it started to rub his thigh, claws digging into the fabric of his jeans.

"And I'm going to surmise this, you're drive to assault my pelvis is hazing that dumb bunny mind of yours," he pointed out, capturing the paw with one of his own as he did.

"Oh come on, we'll be quiet, Red," she closed the gap between their legs, the side of her body becoming flush with his.

"I don't want my mother hearing us," he raised an eyebrow as she begun to nuzzle his side, positioning herself so she could get to his chest as well.

"Now you're just making excuses," the rabbit laughed cheekily. "Come on, I know you want me," she breathed, eyes gazing into his own with need.

"Can't run one past you can I?" he stroked the back of her head, claws running over the hidden skin tenderly.

"What do you think? I've been able to hustle you more than once," she purred.

"Don't rub it in, or there'll be no living with you," his tone took one of relief, no longer teasing her.

"Nick, come on, let's have a little fun," she mumbled, burying her muzzle into his chest, getting his tail to bristle as he felt her sniffing him.

"Yeah let's have some fun?" he mocked with a smirk. "Forgetting about the part that foxes have good sense of smell, along with having good hearing?"

"I haven't forgot, I just really, really don't care anymore," the doe grumbled, taking a pawful of his shirt in a death grip. The male rolled his eyes, keeping her pressed to his side, continuing to scratch at the back of her head in addition to the top of her neck.

"What's getting into you, Carrots?" his nose was twitching as it became filled with her intoxicating scent. His tail wagged behind him in excitement, the fur bristling. His vision was starting to narrow down as it focused on his wife, yet he was able to keep a hold of himself.

"I don't know, I guess it has to do with it being late summer," the younger officer sighed, coming to realize that nothing she did or said was going to convince him.

"I'm sorry, Sweet-Bun. I'd be more than happy to, if we were alone and anywhere else, but you've seen how odd it is still," he nuzzled the top of her head, glaring up at the ceiling. With things as they were of late, their apartment, living with their friends, how chaotic work had been, they just hadn't gotten any time to mate.

"I'm starting to rethink you're offer at renting a room or a couple nights," she closed her eyes, slumping against him to let her thoughts clear up a bit.

"We'll figure something out…..or maybe sometime in the shower might help you clear your head."

The predator burred, however he was suggesting much more than just getting themselves cleaned up. If she caught onto it she didn't mention anything of it. Seeing as there wasn't anything better to say or do at this time, the tod rested the underside of his muzzle on top of his rabbit's skull. It was a spot that he'd usually rest it when they were cuddled up together, such as now. This wasn't the most comfortable spot, but it had become a force of habit to do this, having started as nothing more than a gag to annoy her when they were together, on duty or off it. There were other reasons to doing it, the main one was it provided him the reassurance that she was safe, there was also the fact that she provided a comfortable head rest. This was something that she had told him countless times to stop when they were at work, since it was unprofessional, but he'd just nod with a smirk, only for him to come up behind her later, just to commit the act again.

At the current moment it didn't seem to hold that much if any concern to the rabbit, who appeared to be content with how they were situated. There was the little matter of it starting to make his neck become stiff with how they were sitting, but he shrugged it off, seeing as he had slept in a lot worser conditions. This comparatively was along the lines of a five star hotel, better in his opinion since her fur was so warm and soft, so very, very soft. It wouldn't be the first time, certainly it wouldn't be the last, but he was always taken aback by how soft and fluffy his mate was. Naturally no less, which would take him almost an entire bottle of fur conditioner to get it in the state hers was in. What could he say, male fox fur was course along with being bushy, nothing soft really about it, though this only left him to wonder why his mate's younger sister and brothers would hug or mess with his tail. Still, this only made him question why his partner would do the same, there was quite possibly a connection between rabbits liking fluffy things, but he didn't exactly care right now.

The two officers must have been comfortable since they were on the verge of falling asleep. The predator's paw had come down from behind the prey's head, instead it was now curled around her waist, paw stroking her hip lazily. His tail was leisurely moving from one side of the bed to the other behind them, the tip occasionally twitching, his ear mirroring it as they picked up on sounds from outside. The doe caught herself drifting off to sleep but stopped herself, knowing it would throw off the rest of the day and in all honesty the evening. Blinking her eyes a pawful of times they came back into focus, although her mind was a little slow in processing what was around them.

It wasn't exactly left in the same state as it had been before Nick had left, which was something her parents did with hers….then again they had more than enough room to spare. But she had never ran away from home like he had, leaving everything behind except for what a single pack would hold. Though she wasn't a stranger to seeing this happen, a few of her siblings had some rather nasty rows with their parent's, only to storm out and leave. They still came around and visited, they still loved their folks but they just needed to get out to follow their dreams or to just get away and leave the nest. Also some left home like her, following their dreams which were a bit outlandish for rabbits. Before she left for the academy, no one in her family had done anything besides doing what was expected of rabbits. Now, she had a number of cousins, brother and sisters who were going into careers from fire-fighters to military. A couple of them had even become hyperbaric welders, one of her brothers had even become a pilot for an airline. This hadn't helped with their folks stress, as they now had to worry about their _risk taking kids_ as they put it.

Groaning, the doe squirmed in her partner's embrace, since her neck had become stiff from the added weight from his head pressing down on her neck. This broke him from his own stupor, but as it was seemingly customary for canines, he shook himself awake, his fur ruffling wildly. As he stretched his arms over his head till they popped, she rubbed at the back of her neck, rolling her head in an attempt to loosen up the stiff muscles and joints.

"I hope we weren't out for long," the fox muttered as he stood up.

"No, maybe for ten minutes or so," she reassured him.

"Good, thought we might of slept in for the day," his chuckle died in his throat when he noticed the grimace pulling at her lips. "Alright, Fluff-Butt?"

"Yeah, just my neck's stiff," she murr murred, closing her eyes as she let out a groan in relief from the satisfying pop.

"Didn't mean to fall asleep on you like that," he snickered, placing his paws on her shoulder, before kneeling down. "But you're so comfortable, really I wish you'd reconsider me using you as a pillow," he closed the distance between their muzzles, engaging them in a drawn out kiss.

"Answers still no, you'd only sleep the days away," she retorted with a giggle as he pulled away, watching her with that sleeping smile of his.

"Well with that depressing note, I think it's time we get back to my mom, don't want to appear rude, now do we," he stood back up, but not before he nuzzled into her right shoulder, exactly where the scar to his love bite was; at least one of them since there was one on the scruff of her neck.

"She told me if we stay the night we can have your room," she hopped off the edge of the bed, landing in front of the vulpine, only to become trapped between the mattress and him.

"Would be nice to stay here for a little longer, Shannon and Lance are great, but you've never been to Nocturnal District before, should give me time to show you around," he still hadn't moved, instead he had placed a paw to his mate's muzzle, stroking her tenderly.

"What are you thinking about, Slick Nick?"

"How did I get so lucky to have you all to myself?" his throat rumbled heartily as he growled, but not to frighten her, it was a happy sound.

"We can speculate about this later, Dumb Fox. Don't want to keep your mother waiting, remember?"

"Alright then, I'll have more than enough time later to sweet talk to you."

The fox took a step back as he messed with the hair on top of the rabbit's head, effectively ruffling it. He shot an evil smirk full of his fangs as she glared at him angrily, his thoughts were racing as they came up with an idea for them in the evening. The doe only stuck her tongue at him, as he un-barred her exit, following him to the door, which he held open like a gentlemale. They had the rest of the day ahead of them, since it was only coming up for half past eleven. Enough time to spend time with his mother and explore the district, maybe even get her some night vision goggles so she could actually see some of it.

* * *

 **HI: Well it's been a little over a fortnight since I last updated, so yeah my only answer about that is ;3. Now before we get into why the extra week delay, and how long this chapter is, without it being updated. I just want to say thank you to everyone thus far who has supported this story, either by favoriting, following either me or the story, reviewing, or just viewing the story. This story has come so far with your guy's help. Every time I am notified to one of you putting this story in their favorite list or even me, It makes my heart swell with glee. Seriously it brightens up my day, even my whole week to see this, especially your reviews. As I've said this story is as much mine as yours, so below and on my bio page, you'll see a poll with some options for you to choose from. Or you can send them in through PM or review and I will put them up. Majority vote wins, but the rest will become bonus content. Thanks for being so patient for this update and not spamming me to death with PMs. Next time they'll be an update page that will say that there are issues, which will be removed when the actual chapter is published. Without further a due, what exactly happened.**

 **Seriously, I'm sorry about that you guys, some stuff was going on both with this chapter and outside it. I had the chapter just about done the night before I was about to post when I got the blue screen of death…..oh boy you'd not imagine how much anguish I was in at that point. I hadn't saved and then there's a blue screen with all that lovely, lovely white writing popping up. Well, it gets worse than that, the chapter became corrupted and wouldn't open, I used a program that lets me recover stuff like this, but the chapter was fragmented into various parts of codes and parts were entirely missing. So out of the original I had about a third or a little more that was actually comprehensible. So that would have been around the sixteenth or seventeenth. SO since then I've been retyping the chapter and adding more to it because of this, so consider this chapter a two in one, yey, XD. Seriously, annoying how this came to be. Also I am starting college this week, so I've been getting my stuff ready. Which leads us into some new stuff. I might not be able to get a chapter out this next week or the next as I become accustomed to the next arc of my life. But I do promise that this story will not be put up on cancel, or hiatus. I will keep working on the chapters even if they take a month or two to get out, but expect the weekly update, or every other week. I will put up status updates to inform you how it is going. Now, onto the polls.**

 **Here are the options so far:**

 **either from Nick or Judy's POV on their wedding day**

 **2\. Flashbacks on some of the more memorable dates that Judy and Nick had before they were married**

 **3\. Nick and Judy going on an actual date, hmmmm, interesting…no? Oh come on throw me a bone, not literally you'll damage either your computer/phone or in fact yourself, no lawsuits please! XD**

 **4\. Nick having a flashback on his past with living with his mother, Finnick, the dumpster, the bridge.**

 **5\. New OCs of your choice and creation or of characters that are mentioned in Zootopia, but not elaborated.**

 **6\. Date Night: {Shannon, Lance} {Fangmeyer (he's a white timber wolf or arctic wolf, bite me or claw me, I am not dropping this one), Wolford} {Nick, Judy}**

 **7\. ZPD Ball:….Do….do I have to explain, sort of explanatory, right? XD Well a ball at the ZPD, you set the specific date, send me some background about it, or I'll just improvise on my own.**

 **8\. Flashback: Vivienne and Jonathan when they were together.**

 **9\. Lady Night: Judy and Fru Fru spending time together as friends, with Nick taking care of her daughter and spending time with Mr. Big**

 **10\. Judy having thoughts about Jack in a flashback sequence, and where it went wrong, also how much she appreciates that Nick came into her life, awww, that actually melts my heart a little.**

 **11\. Awkward encounters. Nick and Judy on a date night bump into one of Nick's previous mates, what's the worst that could happen.**

 **That's about it for the polls, for now. Please, you guys, PM, Reviews even if they're just a sentence long. I'll even make it easier, they'll be numbered.**

 **That's about it tonight folks. Hope you enjoyed the chapter, the upcoming chapter poll choices, and I hope to see you all next week sometime. Well, in a side note I have this to say actually. It's still open for anyone, if you have a friend who's an artist or you are yourself, if they or you want to start artwork for this story or a comic though it is very casual compared to others, I'd appreciate seeing it and I have no problem with anyone doing art of my work. Lastly, there's more to come for Nocturnal District, I'd like to see these two explore the numerous districts in Zootopia either on or off duty, we'll get there. Now that is all out of the way, It's time to sign off for the night. This is Reverend Archangel, hoping you all a great rest of the summer, high fives all around for getting this far, many thanks. And all the appreciation I can give to you guys for all the support. Night all.**


	25. Chapter 25

? Chapter ?

? Reverend Archangel ?

? Dead ?

? Alive ?

 **It goes to say without actually having to, that many of you who started reading this story from when it was first published on the 13** **th** **March, 2016 have some questions since the last update on the 27** **th** **August, 2016. As stated some, if not a majority and if not all of you have some questions, nay things that must and have been demanded to be answered and since I am the creator of all of this, the story, the delays, the questions, the frustration and also the concern I am responsible in managing and answering to it to all. Without any further ado I will now confess all that has occurred since the very long and very felt black out of content and communication between with you, the followers, favoriters, reviewers and readers and I.**

 **Last year at the end of August I attended my first semester at University, now some of you may be wondering why that caused a delay in the first place. For one it was stressing walking onto a new path that would lead me onto a higher level of academic education. My hours were constantly filled with my head cramped into source material and my computer to type up papers and doing research. This would not have been so bad if I was also unemployed and had no way of taking care of myself, but I wasn't till at least mid September of that year. The job itself paid well enough and I cannot complain since I still have the same job at present. Still I only made barely enough to get through the first and second semester because I just started work so late, as well as the fact because it's a contracting based operations it doesn't do well in the winter. Which brings me to also bring up that I was unable to get employed the summer before University. I tried and spent many hours and days during the time when I was also writing Prejudice Dies Hard, searching for a job, but I could not land a single one, employers wouldn't return my calls, I followed up with a lot just to have someone else with better requirements cancel me out of the equation.**

 **But as I said things got better around September, so why no content during then or October through. Well here's what happened after that, one night after driving back home I was in a collision with a dear which totaled by vehicle and also gave me some pretty bad whiplash and a medium class concussion. Now two years prior in my Junior year in high school I played football and suffered a head on head tackle with one of my team mates and took my first concussion. So as we are all pretty much aware concussions are dangerous traumas to the head and brain, so back then I avoided computers and kept lighting to a minimal. Now fortunately I was able to procure another vehicle with help from my family and the insurance money from the vehicle, it didn't add up much but enough for me to get a new decent vehicle. But along with that I continued to attend college and still handed in assignments and still attended work, this caused me to suffer from migraines because I wasn't entirely healed, and I still suffer from mild ones now, as well as dealing with a stiff neck. Because of this I put off plans to update in November, December and so forth because of the stress of University, and my injury.**

 **After December and when we entered the new year, I basically, I will not lie gave up on writing the story to Prejudice Dies Hard. I had lost interest, University was consuming my life because of the massive workloads, and I was also concentrating on work. During the summer vacation I continued to work and I just never felt comfortable or ready enough to go back into writing, besides just PDH I stopped writing freely altogether after joining University and working. Along the way I have also been dealing with bouts of serious depression, identity issues and crises along with sexual identity and preference and just dealing with my Autism and anxiety disorder. All of this culminated in me not doing anything with FanFiction or my writing or really any of my hobbies that I enjoyed, reading, writing, sketching and hanging out with my friends.**

 **What I want to say now is that I am sorry, I apologize for not giving any of you any sort of notice about what was going on, with the story, my status and so on. I apologize and I mean it from the deepest corners and with all of my beating heart because when I started out this story it was for fun but along the way it started picking up with a lot of people, you all enjoyed reading it and supporting it, giving me ideas, feedback which has helped me to become a better writer, even if I have taken a long break, if that is what you want to call it. This story became bigger than I had ever thought it was ever going to get and that is because of you guys, all of you, from the very beginning to where we left off. I have so much to apologize for but I don't want to make this sound like a sob story for you to feel bad about me, or to give me pity. I just want you to understand why I was gone so long and to understand that I am sorry for not doing a better job at communicating with you all. I do understand that you all may still have questions and if you ask them I'll answer them truthfully, because the descriptions I have given do appear to be vague and not much detail on them. Nevertheless I wish to talk to you about the next part of this announcement.**

 **I understand that many of you are concerned with where this story is heading and I must confess that I am very much concerned myself because I have stepped away from it so long. I have not decided with what to do with this story yet, I want to continue it, but I want to know that you guys still want it and that you can remain just as patient as you all have with my absence from it. I cannot promise to put out a chapter a week like I once did, it will be most likely two weeks to a month if I do start back up. If I do start back up I plan to start by rewriting the story, not stripping it all away and giving you a different story but going back through and correcting the mistakes, updating the style and also taking things out, lessening some parts, and adding stuff that I wanted to put in there but forgot or simply didn't have time for. I know for some of you that you like the story as it is, but I feel that after rereading it the last week that I took out content with the time jumps and doing at times a poor job and portraying Nick and Judy's relationship within my story. I will only do this if you wish for me to come back and keeping writing the story, I say this because I myself have changed and as such my writing style has as well. I ask you guys because this story is as much my story as it is yours, as such I do not wish to destroy something that you guys enjoy reading and probably come back to reread. I will start to try and work on the first chapter tomorrow either way, but it will be up to you guys whether or not if I continue, if so you guys and expect to see something maybe Sunday night, Monday night.**

 **For better or worse, this is Reverend Archangel signing off to you my friends on Fanfiction and wishing you all a good night's rest and a hopefully safe and enjoyable holiday.**

 **P.S. Message me through the PM or by review either way I'll be checking my mail tomorrow to see what you have all decided, and once again sorry for the delay but I'm going to try to be around more, that is if you wish for this story to continue.**


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